So Who’s Laughing Now?

Founded in 1997 as 911 Gifts and relaunched in 1999 as Web-based RedEnvelope, the company unveiled its first print catalog in February of 2000. As CEO Martin McLanan told attendees at the 2001 Catalog Conference in Boston in June: “A catalog gives a Web-only business credibility.”

The second reason: Internet marketers realized how direct marketing know-how could help them to weather the current economic storm and continue to build their businesses. “The direct marketing mindset has proved invaluable on the Web,” Elaine Rubin, chairperson of Shop.org, the online group of the National Retail Federation, told BusinessWeek e.biz.