Editor’s Take

With an industry as diverse as the catalog/multichannel business, it’s never easy to draw conclusions. But having gotten around a lot this year — perhaps more than ever before — I came to several conclusions about where the business is heading.

1. Catalogers are working harder than I’ve ever seen. That common observation that they did more than merely mingle with vendors says a lot. It may be tough to draw a lot of money out of consumers’ pockets now, and rising costs may be crippling, but catalogers can’t be faulted for not trying hard enough.