Catalog Retailers’ Resolutions for a Profitable New Year

5. Negotiate with your vendors. Just as consumers are looking for discounts, catalog retailers should be negotiating more aggressively than ever with their vendors for greater discounts. One of the biggest opportunities is with printers, who have excess capacity and are looking to survive. (The Printing Industry of America estimates that nearly 9,500 U.S. printers will go out of business in the next decade.) In addition to negotiating lower pricing and bulk discounts, consider asking your vendors for improved credit terms, including bigger discounts if bills are paid in less than the typical 60 days.