Profile on Plow & Hearth--Reaping What You Sow (2,623 words)

Hay began working with Plow & Hearth's upscale Charlottesville, VA, retail store when he was a student at the University of Virginia. He came into the burgeoning database department in 1994, a momentous year in the progression of the company.

"In 1994, we developed an in-house marketing database and promotions reporting system that gave us a good handle on the business," says Hay. "That same year, we were one of the original beta test sites for ModelMax," predictive modeling software from Pittsburgh-based database software company ASA (Advanced Software Applic-ations). "In conjunction with our database, ModelMax helped us really manage our buyer file."