Lillian Vernon’s mail order business has grown from a black-and-white space ad to nine catalogs

By Alicia Orr , Editor In Chief and Catalog Success

1. A reason for being mail order. Items that will photograph well in a catalog.
2. Truly unique or hard-to-find. Very different items from what one might see in stores or other catalogs.
3. Items that can be personalized. One of the catalog’s competitive advantages, personalization, is handled in-house at its national distribution center in Virginia Beach, VA, according to Green. Using eight personalization methods—among them laser, etching and embroidery—Lillian Vernon can customize everything from quilts to leather purses to silver-plated goblets with names or initials.