November 1, 2007
Sign me up
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Ken Magill
Ask any multichannel marketer about the biggest challenges in e-mail, and growing their lists will certainly come up somewhere in the conversation.
Enter e-mail co-registration. When the tactic first came along in the early part of this decade, it was considered a fast and relatively effort-free way to grow an e-mail file....
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A SLOW START
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By the Multichannel Merchant Staff
Fall arrived late this year for much of the country, and consumers are taking their time shopping for seasonal goods. And apparel catalogers are feeling the heat — they say that the warm weather in September and October suppressed sales....
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Is this New Delhi?
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Mark Del Franco
Haband is doing it. So are Home Decorators Collection and Creative Irish Gifts. Dell's still at it — even after customers told it to stop.
What are these merchants doing? They're outsourcing all or part of their incoming calls to overseas call centers....
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The green monsters
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM, Melissa Dowling, Editor-in-Chief
It's not a great time to be a print cataloger, and I'm not even talking about postal rates and paper prices. Your business is under attack by environmental enthusiasts that want to help people get off your mailing lists....
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Conney Safety sold
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM, Mark Del Franco
Nine years after buying the business, K+K America sold Conney Safety Products to private equity firm Caxton-Iseman Capital for $48 million. ...
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More postal pain?
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Jim Tierney
The U.S. Postal Service wants to raise rates again, and nobody knows how the agency will go about the increase. Some fear the USPS may try to go for one last big hike under the old rules....
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Neiman Marcus on the retail cusp
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM, Jim Tierney
Neiman Marcus is renowned for its elegant stores and superior service, but it's never really been considered cutting edge. The upscale cataloger/retailer is addressing the issue with its new Cusp stores designed to appeal to a younger demographic....
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Sierra Trading, Bergdorf Goodman head home
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Jim Tierney
The real estate slowdown hasn't deterred mailers from tapping in to the home goods market. Two merchants at the low and high end of the spectrum — cataloger Sierra Trading Post and retailer Bergdorf Goodman, respectively — have just launched titles in the area....
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Fancy Flours cooks up a print catalog
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM, Tim Parry
Hoping to generate more dough, cake and cookie decorating supplies Web merchant Fancy Flours has mailed its first print catalog. ...
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Equity firm buys Caswell-Massey
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM, Mark Del Franco
Caswell-Massey, a multichannel marketer of luxury personal grooming products, has changed hands again. Private equity firm The Equitium Group on Sept. 21 acquired the cataloger/retailer/wholesaler. ...
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Mixed apparel: a gender bender
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Mark Del Franco
Not quite sure what mixed gender means? The term describes merchants who sell apparel for both men and women, everything from sportswear to business apparel....
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Slim-jim size suits popcorn mailer
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Jim Tierney
For Dale and Thomas Popcorn, it's no longer hip to be square. Or rather, after the whopping postal rate increase this past May, it's no longer affordable to be square. The popcorn mailer has cuts its costs significantly by changing its trim size to a slim-jim....
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Sears Wish Book makes a return
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM, Tim Parry
While it's not exactly accurate to say the Big Book is back, Sears has created a holiday Wish Book catalog for the first time in 14 years. ...
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Bottoms not up
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Jim Tierney
While most of the publicly traded consumer merchants tracked improved their revenue for the second quarter, those increases failed to correlate on the earnings side.
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August mailings take a tumble
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM, Tim Parry
Perhaps a sign that mailers were less than optimistic about fall, catalog mailings dropped 33%. Just 236 catalogs were received by Catalog Tracker in August. While that is 30 more books than July, it's down considerably from the 349 catalogs the Greenwich, CT-based list firm received in August 2006....
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KooKoo for kids's stuff
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM, Tim Parry
Some merchants may be reporting a slow start to the season, but children's home decor and apparel merchant KooKoo Bear Kids is up 35% this fall, and is already ahead of its 2007 sales goals....
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FAO Schwarz in store for Chicago's Macy's
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM, Mark Del Franco
Upscale toy merchant FAO Schwarz is easing into retail expansion this month by opening a store-within-a-store in Macys' downtown Chicago location....
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Print, Production, & Paper
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM, BY JIM TIERNEY
Multichannel Merchant's exclusive 2007 Benchmark Survey on Print, Production, & Paper finds that catalogers have further embraced digital workflows, digital photography, and digital proofing....
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Kick it up a notch
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM
From its name, you may think Revgear.com specializes in accessories for sportscars, but the cataloger actually sells products for boxing, kickboxing,...
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Measure for measure
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM, BY KEN BURKE
Think the traditional means for measuring print catalog performance — square-inch analysis — is obsolete in the world of e-commerce? Guess again....
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Customer experience at its best
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By LOIS BOYLE AND STEVE TROLLINGER
We've discussed the customer experience and its relation to the brand, the creative platform, the marketing plan, and the merchandise concept throughout the year. Now let's look at building a sound channel-centric customer experience....
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CREATIVE
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM, BY KEVIN KOTOWSKI
In today's multichannel world, designers, photographers and copywriters work on a multitude of projects. In addition to catalogs, you'll find them creating Websites, direct mail pieces, newsletters, e-mail communications, space ads for print publications, banner ads, free-standing inserts (FSIs) for use in newspapers, trade show materials, retail store signage, and a host of other projects....
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Give first-time buyers a boost
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM, GINA VALENTINO
There's an old joke about the devil being low on quota, so he decided to heavily promote special offers, free gifts and promises. With an immediate and...
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Using simulators to find E-LTV
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM, JIM WHEATON
You know that best-practices marketing database content is essential to effective data mining. It works in tandem with longitudinal (over time) test panels and business simulators to identify and leverage a given company's dynamics to provide important strategic and tactical insights....
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Co-ops crippling catalog list business
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM, Melissa Dowling
How are catalog list owners like the U.S. Postal Service? Both keep raising prices to make up for business shortfalls. And catalogers can't ignore this vicious cycle, Bill LaPierre told attendees of the NEMOA conference in Portland, ME, in September....
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LISTINGS
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM
New lists Foreclosure Review This list contains entrepreneurs who purchased information about the real estate foreclosure market. These 88,613 individuals...
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WMS WATCH
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM, BY ERNIE SCHELL
Your distribution center needs to be able to control inventory movements, from receiving and put-away to picking and packing, as well as the management...
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Fulfilling Prophecies
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM, BY CURT BARRY
You know it, we know it: These are tough times in the multichannel marketing industry on the front end and back end. And with many merchants now heading...
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CONTENT IS KING
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM, BY KAREN M. KROLL
Want to make your customers happy? Stop selling for a minute and give them something to read. It can be detailed product information or even jokes. But it may be time to learn what other b-to-b merchants already know: that content is king....
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back word
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM
Sweetie darling, of course it's Lacroix Break out the Bolli Stoli: Serious couture is coming to catalogs. Multititle mailer Redcats USA announced in September...
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CORRECTION:
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM
In the October cover story Golden boy, we described Orchard Brands' Haband catalog as a $100 million business with declining sales due to a change in...
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TALES FROM THE FRONT
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM
An uncommonly good practice After placing an order with the Uncommon Goods Website, a Multichannel Merchant staff member discovered that the gifts merchant...
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