Merchandising

Product benefits and colorful food imagery are key ingredients to selling high-end “outdoor kitchens” Grills have come a long way since the tiny, round burners of old. In fact, today’s large, high-tech grills are known as “outdoor kitchens,” and buyers are spending huge sums to provide their guests with the best cookout experience possible. According to Jeff Ryan, a senior copywriter at Via and a 19-year veteran of L.L. Bean, today’s grill merchants need to point out benefits like stainless-steel construction, burner capacity and easy cleaning. To appeal to the modern grill market, Ryan says copywriters also should mention grill size; how

When you come to a fork in the road, take it. —Yogi Berra This is the extraordinary story of a family-owned corporation that bailed out of its half-century-old signature business and took off in a whole new and highly profitable direction. In 1942, an avid young amateur photographer named Norman W. Edmund tried to locate good camera lenses. But the war had thrown a wrench into the entire stream of consumer and industrial products. After an exhaustive search, he found a source for his lenses. It occurred to him that other camera buffs may be in the same boat, so the

I am quite amazed by the number of unique, niche catalogs that have found their way to my mailbox or in-box lately—everything from catalogs for cigar smokers (i.e., Corona Cigar Co.) to American Historic Society’s catalog targeting coin collectors to a catalog selling Vidalia onions (yes, Bland Farms sells onions). Then at last month’s annual Catalog Conference in Boston, I was introduced to several other niche players I hadn’t been aware of before. Wolferman’s catalog, for instance, sells a signature product—English muffins, which look so mouthwateringly delicious that I have to order some of these yummy treats. At a luncheon one day, I sat

To say Sovietski Collection catalog has a unique niche would be an understatement. Indeed, a quick flip through its pages is like taking a whirlwind trip around the former East Bloc. Its product selection includes militaria, such as Soviet MiG pilot helmets and copper diving helmets, Russian submarine clocks, East German tank commander binoculars and field phones. There’s also hand-crafted Polish sabers and Czech walking sticks, Lomonosov porcelain tableware, Romanian crystal goblets and Russian-made woolen shawls. The catalog even features a genuine Soviet “Strizh” spacesuit complete with communications helmet and umbilical life-support interfaces. Sovietski sells merchandise and artifacts sourced primarily from Europe

Some companies are so effectively branded that to say their names is to speak of quality in the minds of many consumers. Mercedes, Armani, and Rolex are a few. Bose is another. For buyers of audio equipment, the name virtually guarantees top sound quality. According to catalog consultant Tony Cox, Bose’s brand may be one reason so many catalogs are prominently featuring the audio-equipment manufacturer’s Wave CD player. Says Cox, “Catalogers ride on the fact that Bose is a branded product with a great reputation.” Buying audio equipment without hearing it is similar to buying a car without driving it: You’d better have

Few catalogers link their merchandise results to a thorough analysis and review of their sales results by segment. But doing so has many benefits. What Are New Customers Buying? Since growth through new-customer acquisition is the key goal of many catalog companies, concentrating on what contributes to those acquisitions is critical. One key area to focus on is the merchandise offering. After you perform a square-inch analysis and begin selecting items for the next issue, take another look at your item performance. Run a report using both your order-level data and customer database to determine which items new customers purchased most often. Compare

Midnight. Six people are huddled around a sink in the women’s restroom. Except for me, all are men. In this vast printing plant—ablaze with sulphur, neon and mercury lights—one pathetic 60-watt bulb is the only incandescent light we can find. Is my Christmas catalog cover green in ordinary room light (as intended) or silver? My sales rep peers through the gloom at a just-printed sample in my hand. “I could convince myself that’s green,” he says. Color-correct lights aren’t always the best for viewing color. They do ensure that everyone in the industry views proofs and printed samples under similar lighting conditions.

Requests For Proposals (RFPs) are the best way to escape a hostage situation with your vendors. They give you control over deadlines, quality, product requirements, service and how materials are shipped. Typically, RFPs are written to solicit a specific service from a vendor for merchandise or raw materials, telecommunications, printing, paper, ordering systems and fulfillment services. An RFP is a detailed request that provides product requirements, service terms and maintenance necessities to a vendor who responds with a list of capabilities and a price for his or her wares. Most catalogers begin searching for a vendor about year before they expect

Although no one seems to know all the details, the first mail order company for women’s “plus” sizes was apparently started about 75 years ago by a woman named Lena Bryant, as an outgrowth of her successful retail operation. Not Lane Bryant—Lena Bryant. That’s right, Lena. The name that has become synonymous with apparel for large women was apparently the result of a signmaker’s error. Rumor has it that Lena liked how “Lane Bryant” looked on the storefront and stuck with that name for her company. There are other interesting legends about the early days of the industry. For example, Lena Bryant’s initial mail

Lillian Vernon began selling personalized belts and handbags with a black and white ad 50 years ago. Now, the company offers more than 6,000 items through nine catalog titles and a growing Web business What do Katie Couric, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Hillary Clinton all have in common? It’s not their political affiliations. Think porcelain Easter baskets and personalized bean bag chairs. Now you get the picture: These celebrities are among the 23 million people who have shopped the pages of Lillian Vernon’s catalogs. The namesake business Lillian Vernon launched in 1951 on the kitchen table of her small, Mount Vernon, NY, apartment has