Scale & Scope

And expand they did. As a result of the merchandise shift, the 12 month housefile soared from 40,000 in 2002 to an estimated 122,000 in 2004. Even more impressive, the total housefile reached 230,000 at the end of 2004, for a whopping 70 percent growth from the year before.

The team at Acorn Direct has always sought to set the catalog apart from its competitors. “We recognize that we aren’t all things to all people,” says Penella. Since the business (prior to the catalog startup) served primarily a niche market — Anglophiles — the company knew its target pretty well. Asked to describe the catalog’s product mix, Marron notes, “A thoughtful, eclectic, interesting and entertaining selection of quality videos and gifts, often British, always discerning.”