Focus on: Business Strategies Twenty years of steady growth and smart acquisitions have propelled Doctors Foster & Smith to the top spot among pet-supply catalogers.

By Reported Donna Loyle

Potential operational efficiencies also come into play, says Smith. For example, DFS now enjoys greater volume discounts on its printing and paper purchases. Additionally, it now co-mails titles, which has helped reduce overall postage costs from what the catalogs’ previous owners were paying. Prospecting and housefile segmentation has become more efficient, as well. “We can overlay our lists, take those names and add buyers to each list,” says Smith.