The Edge Co. Puts Catalog on Hold Oct 1, 2001 12:00 PM
, Paul Miller
JobZone
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Keene, NH—The Edge Co., a 15-year-old cataloger of
high-tech gadgets and gifts, laid off 48 people on Sept. 24--84% of its
staff. Just nine employees remain with the company. Although The Edge
had a 48-page catalog ready to mail to 1 million customers and
prospects as of Sept. 21, president/CEO Bill Rooney says that he
decided to shelve the book and reorganize the company due to its
"financial situation." The previous Edge catalog dropped in late
May.
The Edge, which is owned by Retail Equity Partnerships, a
division of GE Investments, also operates Voyager’s
Collection, a catalog of travel-related products that has been
distributed in the seatbacks of American Airlines planes. But American
failed to renew its contract with Voyager’s which expired at the
end of September, Rooney says. Voyager’s fate is also being
reevaluated.
Edge founder Patrick Gaffney sold the company to the now-defunct
Genesis Direct (backed by GE Capital) three years ago. Currently,
orders placed for at least 35 SKUs are on backorder. One particular
exclusive limited-edition product has been backordered since April, due
to a problem with the supplier of that item, Rooney says. Some other
backordered items have been cancelled altogether, but customers have
been properly treated, he adds.
"We want to take the time to do a proper diagnosis to reposition the
catalog," Rooney says. "We’ve told our people that they’ve
been furloughed. Hopefully they’ll be called back." While The
Edge will continue to fulfill orders throughout the season, it will
advertise only through its Website.
