Looking for a happy story these days? Although the home furnishings market has suffered as badly as other retail industries, don’t tell this to the Grill Lover’s Catalog. By focusing more heavily on gift-giving and entertaining, Grill Lover’s enjoyed a 28% increase in sales last year. As a result, the company has continued to expand its catalog this year.
Grill Lover’s, which is produced by Midland, GA-based Bradley Direct, increased circulation from 8 million to 8.3 million last year. This year the company is boosting circulation even more, to 9 million. What’s more, the book’s page count will jump, from 40 to 48 pages.
Most of the company’s circulation gains will be in prospecting, which will increase from 45% of circulation in 2002 to 54% this year, says merchandising and Web marketing manager Sonny Jones. To build its house file, Grill Lover’s is relying primarily on names from the Abacus, Z24, NextAction, and I-Behavior co-op databases.
Grill Lover’s attributes its success to a slew of factors. For one, the cataloger increased its per-spread product density by 12%. In addition, the company has stepped up its offerings of small electronics, housewares, and patio, lawn, and garden products, while introducing a line of tabletop and wine and bar products. The company also increased gift offerings by 20%.
“The strategy has changed to reflect consumers’ changed lifestyles,” Jones says. “So today we include targeted efforts focused on holiday grilling, entertaining, and gift giving.”
Not only has the catalog expanded its product line, but it has also added higher-quality, more-expensive products. Whereas the most expensive grill the cataloger offered in 1999 cost $699.99, the book now features one for $5,999.99. This shift has led to a rise in average order size from $58 three years ago to $68 today.
Many Grill Lover’s products are manufactured by sister firm Char-Broil, but the cataloger carries merchandise from numerous other suppliers as well. “Many manufacturers today carry many of the same products,” Jones says, “but finding that special, unique product that is built with high-quality standards is one of my goals in merchandise selection for Grill Lover’s.”
Grill Lover’s was redesigned three years ago, and more cohesive groupings of merchandise have given the book a longer shelf life. At the same time, improved operations, such as a 10% improvement in fill rates and speedier call answering times, have helped retain customers. “It’s an evolving process that we are tweaking regularly,” Jones says.
Circ planning receives its due
Changes in circulation strategy deserve much of the credit for the catalog’s growth. “In the past, we steered more to a spring-summer seasonal approach to our circulation planning,” Jones says. Grill Lover’s traditionally mailed more catalogs earlier in the key spring season, with its February drop larger than its March mailing. But last year the cataloger mailed 45% more books in March than it used to. It also reduced the size of its February mailing 12%.
And this year, Grill Lover’s is testing the addition of two more March drops. It also segmented the mailings geographically, mailing later to the colder states. “We’re gauging the responsiveness as of now with this test,” Jones says.
Grill Lover’s increased circulation doesn’t come at the expense of its e-commerce strategy. During the past year, Web-placed orders increased 48%, compared to the 15% growth in catalog orders placed over the company’s toll-free line. Web-placed orders now make up 25% of all sales. The company prepared itself for the increase in Web orders by integrating its back-end systems.
Also during the past year, the company started using an e-mail template that mimics its Website, allowing recipients to navigate the e-mail the same way they would the site home page. “Even if the customer has no interest in the offer the e-mail presents,” Jones says, it still serves as a reminder of the company.