Financial Reports: Coldwater Creek, J. Jill, Urban Outfitters
Retail continues to drive Coldwater Creek’s growth, and Urban Outfitters is booming on all fronts. But J. Jill’s direct division is struggling.
News
Apparel Retailer Body Central Launches Print Book
Apparel retailer Body Shop of America has more than 160 stores in 19 states, but it has only recently entered the world of direct marketing. Having launched a transactional Website last year, the Jacksonville, FL-based company last month introduced a Body Central print catalog.
Financial Reports: Talbots, Blyth
Cataloger/retailer The Talbots posted sales gains and income decline in preliminary annual results, while manufacturer/marketer Blyth grew on both sides of the ledger
L.L. Bean Sales Up 9%
Freeport, ME-based L.L. Bean reported a 9% rise in annual net sales, to a record $1.4 billion for fiscal 2004. The outdoor gear and apparel merchant also reported acquiring a record number of new customers.
Having His Say: Online vs. On-Demand Marketing Databases
No matter how you maintain your customer history, you certainly should have faster and smarter access to it.
Reports that once took six months to develop are routinely delivered in a month or less these days. As a result, marketing strategies have changed considerably as well. Marketers are much more targeted with their offers and the timing of them.
Today we use terms such as
Don’t Lose Profit to Online Requesters
Because it is so easy to request catalogs on the Web, catalog requesters are yielding lower conversion rates and declining in value, says Jim Coogan, president of Sante Fe, NM-based Catalog Marketing Economics. For that reason, he suggests segmenting those who requested via the Web from your other requesters.
Polish Your Data Dictionary
As the saying goes, Cleanliness is next to godliness. And in direct marketing, data cleanliness leads to improved profitability. But because data hygiene is about as exciting as, well, dental hygiene, too many marketers give it only cursory attention.
And that, says Brent Bissell, president of Minneapolis-based consultancy Direct Target One, is a costly oversight. Poor hygiene results in an inconsistent data dictionary
February Sales Roundup
Several of the multichannel merchants tracked by CATALOG AGE boasted of double-digit February sales growth.
Overstock.com Offers $500,000 for Eziba Assets
Online discounter Overstock.com has offered global goods merchant Eziba $500,000 for all of its assets. But a sale of the all-but-defunct company may not occur until Eziba declares bankruptcy.