A Chat with Steve Singer, president, Hartford York

CS: What do you think are some key points to your success in this business?

Singer: No. 1, having been in the mail order business since 1990/91, I think I have an understanding of circulation processes. I've been a merchant, I've been merchandising and selling products since I was 9 years old. I'm 55, now. I think I have a real good intuition for product selection. I talk to a lot of my customers. I look closely at what kind of multiples they buy, and I let them greatly influence me. I try to give my customers what I think they want, based on what they're buying. I've been pretty successful at that. More than anything, I'd say it's my merchandising intuition that serves me well.