Tender Heart Treasures creates 90 percent of its own products—and considers this one of its competitive advantages.

By Alicia Orr Suman

The target audience for A Special Place is comprised of women with a median age of 40 (half falling between the ages of 45 to 64) with an average household income of $50,000 to $100,000.

Though the business now is divided between the two catalogs, the company notes significant overlap among the two customer bases. As a result, about half of the total housefile is mailed the two titles. In addition, some migration occurs naturally as the company’s customers mature, says Watanabe-Gerdes. “Our customers have in a way grown up with us. People tend to evolve in their decorating styles as they mature,” she notes. “A lot of people are comfortable with the country style when they first set up their homes. Then as they mature, they may become more traditional and romantic in their tastes, as is a trend with our baby boomer customers.”