Management

The past decade hasn’t been good to small booksellers — catalog or retail. Soundly beaten in price, selection and convenience by volume-driven big box retailers like Barnes & Noble and Borders, as well as online retailers such as Amazon.com, many of today’s smaller booksellers are barely hanging on. But at least one small cataloger has found a way to reinvent itself and thrive. Chinaberry, a two-title cataloger of children’s books, educational toys, and spiritual and inspirational gifts, has found its own path to modest growth over the past couple of years. The company mails a namesake catalog that offers children’s books and toys, and

At the annual DMA Catalog Council holiday reception held in New York on Dec. 5, two different catalogers asked a similar series of questions.

*Is catalog dealmaking winding down, or is a lot still going on?

*Are the two key buyers driving the market still equity houses and retailers?

*Will there be a lot of deal announcements in January?

They began their questioning by noting that it’s nearly mid-December and while general 2006 M&A activity reported in the national press is at an all-time high, cataloging deals seem relatively minimal.

My answers are fairly similar to this time last year, and they’re somewhat intertwined. Yes, a

A reader of the most recent M&A:Q&A asks: “How long is the typical term of the licensing agreement in these deals? Do they go on forever, as long as either party does not breach? What’s the risk to Blue Sky of investing in these deals and then losing the license in five to seven years?” (Click here for original column)

Larry West responds:
License agreements are typically for an initial term of three to five years, with co-renewal rights. Some can be as long as 10 years. Others, similar to these, can be renewed in perpetuity.

Having said that, you’re right, the ultimate term depends on

Having recently signed licensing agreements with the catalog brands from nonprofit organizations, Winterthur Museum and the National Wildlife Federation, Allston, Mass.-based catalog holding firm BlueSky Brands now operates five titles, including Paragon Gifts, Bits & Pieces and Bits & Pieces UK. BlueSky Brands CEO Richard Hebert discussed with Catalog Success his company’s recent acquisitions, business strategies and plans for the future. Catalog Success: What are BlueSky Brands’ goals? Richard Hebert: We’re looking to grow organically, as well as through acquisition. We’ve been pretty acquisitive so far, having obtained five retail direct-to-consumer brands in addition to the AB&C Group, our fulfillment company. And you will certainly see

These are complex deals and for the launch of my new section on CatalogSuccess.com, I will explain some of the metrics and reasons for this unique transaction structure.

First, however, here’s the deal: BlueSky Brands, which owns the for-profit Paragon and Bits and Pieces catalogs, signed exclusive licensing agreements to manage and operate the direct-to-consumer catalog and Internet merchandising businesses of Winterthur Museum & Country Estate and the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), both of which are nonprofit organizations.

Winterthur and NWF have operated successful direct response merchandising business for years. In this deal, BlueSky formed two operating brands: Winterthur Direct (WD) and National Wildlife

Really… I mean it!

If you’re not already in the catalog business, don’t start one. In fact, you can stop reading here.

Don’t even waste your time…

O.K., you got me. I’m being ironic.

In fact, a few paragraphs down, I’ll tell you why now is the best time to start a catalog business. But, only as long as you’re willing to follow the few simple rules of the catalog business. Rules that run counterintuitive to your current business model.

To me, this is a fitting way to start my first weekly blog (silly word blog, but less silly than saying the word “spam”

A key point of employee goal-setting is to help your staffers become more productive. That’s why you don’t want to confuse activity with progress. Put systems in place for measuring productivity throughout your catalog company. Then live by those productivity measurements. Remember this mantra: What gets measured gets done. Create policies ensuring that the “urgent” doesn’t take precedence over the “important.” And do everything you can to eliminate redundancies and busywork. Once you’ve set the measurements, give feedback, both formal and in real time. Establish ongoing evaluative processes so that employees receive managerial feedback on how well they’re meeting their goals. But don’t limit

We all mess up sometimes -- a meeting falls flat, you lose your temper with a co-worker, or you step on the gas instead of the brake and smash into someone’s house. Well, some mistakes are bigger than others. But whether you’re a salesperson who lost an account or an employee who just told off your boss, don’t start looking in the want ads yet. If you play your cards right you, too, can get a second chance for a do-over by using your sense of humor. Laughter breaks tension, changes the mood and creates an opening for a do-over. And a little light-hearted,

If your company’s goal is profitable, multichannel growth, business modeling can offer you a clear strategy to achieve that goal. Simply put, a business model defines how your company generates revenue, and describes how your pricing, service and channel strategies work together. The process of detailing revenue sources, customer relationships and organizational structure identifies opportunities and challenges. This reveals the correct behaviors that should be your company’s focus. A unique, sustainable and hard-to-copy model will begin to take shape as you continue this process. Identifying your company’s current components is the first step to creating your optimal business model. Begin by answering the following

Almost half of the U.S.-based working adults who completed a recent online survey said they’re given no clearly defined goals on the job. “Too many companies are dropping the ball in regard to helping their employees set and work toward well-defined goals,” says Joanne Sujansky, CEO of KEYGroup, a consultancy that commissioned the online survey taken by more than 1,700 workers ranging in age from 18 to 64. “When employees don’t have crystal-clear goals to work toward, they’re going to waste time and resources. They’re going to be inefficient.” Following are some of Sujansky’s tips for setting goals for your employees: Share the big