Developing a Turnaround Plan
Staying Out of Trouble
Under-capitalization is just one way catalogers get into financial fixes, which can further exacerbate the difficulties of getting necessary funding.
The most common mistake is trying to grow the company too fast. At first, it may seem profitable to add new pages of merchandise to a catalog, but it requires cash, since inventory must be purchased before the first sale can be made. Buying too much inventory early on can cause extreme cash problems. The decision to add merchandise to a company’s catalog should be made well ahead of time and should be executed based on a certain time-frame.
- Companies:
- Lett Direct Inc.
Steve Lett graduated from Indiana University in 1970 and immediately began his 50-year career in Direct Marketing; mainly catalogs.
Steve spent the first 25 years of his career in executive level positions at both consumer and business-to-business companies. The next 25 years have been with Lett Direct, Inc., the company Steve founded in early 1995. Lett Direct, Inc., is a catalog and internet consulting firm specializing in circulation planning, plan execution, analysis and digital marketing (Google Premier Partner).
Steve has served on the Ethics Committee of the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and on a number of company boards, both public and private. He served on the Board of the ACMA.  He has been the subject of two Harvard Business School case studies. He is the author of a book, Strategic Catalog Marketing. Steve is a past Chairman of both the Catalog Council and Business Mail Council of the DMA. He spent a few years teaching Direct Marketing at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.
You can contact Steve at stevelett@lettdirect.com.
