How Spiegel Recovered

"We went from a 56 percent credit penetration to 4 percent overnight," Madonna points out about the closing of the credit card business at the time. "That was the main event … that really impacted our sales in 2003."

As for the catalog's overhaul, Madonna and her team effectively have updated the Spiegel catalog business from a department store in print to a resource of what today's busy women want. "Today, it's much more about ideas, advice, inspiration and concepts," she says. "We have experts in different fields who give customers advice. And we have a new style point of view, which is relevant to today's customer. It's very fabric-driven."