How catalogers merchandise a once-in-a-lifetime product

“What we don’t sell out from the catalog by Jan. 1, we will put on phone special, which means our TSRs will mention it as a discounted item at the end of calls,” Hochberg says.

The Lillian Vernon flutes, featured on the inside front spread of the holiday catalog, came in a set of four, each with one of the numerals in 2000 on the stem. “Perfect at home and out on the town, great keepsake gift for the century!” reads the copy.