Product diversification is enabling Beau Ties Ltd. of Vermont to tighten its hold on a niche market.

By Matt Griffin and Catalog Success

“Bow-tie wearers of the world have a problem,” Kenerson says. “They simply can’t find bow ties.” Armed with this knowledge, he proposed the concept of a direct marketing business to his wife, Deb Venman, a partner at a local law firm.

In their initial research, Kenerson and Venman found there were 100 million to 200 million ties sold in the United States every year. With an estimated 3 percent to 5 percent of those numbers representing bow-tie wearers, they felt those numbers represented a substantial niche that could be served by a catalog. The only catalog company they were aware of that sold bow ties had gone out of business years prior, so they felt the time was ripe for a new entry into the market — if it could be done properly.