Printing/Production

Cross-channel retailers have heard for years that catalog marketing is no longer practical. It's too expensive and not a sales driver is the line that's repeated. There are hundreds of companies that would argue otherwise, however. When managed properly, a catalog marketing program can still be very profitable. Here are two tips to help your catalog marketing program reach profitability:

Stephen Lett gives a guide to factors you might not consider when looking for your next printer.

Thousands have factory jobs in American Apparel's downtown Los Angeles plant. CEO Dov Charney wants it all made in America. But recently he's talked of importing. 

Quad/Graphics, a printer of retail advertising inserts in North America, announced today it's investing $20 million to expand its insert printing capabilities in the upper Midwest. The investment, which includes adding four retail offset presses to its Lomira, Wis., facility, will give clients additional quick-turn production and rapid delivery of versioned, smaller page count advertising formats inserted into newspapers.

Retailers have been plagued by issues; some have suffered from product misses, others from deep discounts, and everyone has been hurt by the decline in consumer spending. But one factor that has actually been a positive for the sector may now begin to put pressure on retailers. After a decade of a favorable sourcing environment, the cost of production is rising. Prices for cotton have nearly doubled over the last year, capacity in China is drying up and freight costs are expected to rise. And retailers, who have finally begun to regain their footing, will now be forced to up their prices to pass along some of the costs to consumers.

Retailers are pulling out all the stops to eliminate waste and reduce costs. Major catalog marketers nationwide have hopped on the “tighten your belt” trend, with an increased demand for smaller, letter-rate catalogs. Dropping millions of large catalogs to underperforming mailing lists is passé, while green design and consumer perceptions are hot, and postage is at an all-time high. 

Whatever your personalization strategy, the key is to get started. Develop a personalization plan and keep working your way up the personalization ladder. Each step will bring new benefits and help generate the return on investment you need to justify further investments.

Factory orders rose in February, bolstered by strong demand for industrial machinery and commercial aircraft. It was the 10th increase in 11 months as manufacturing continues to provide crucial support for the nation's economic recovery. Manufacturers, which were hit hard by the recession, are benefiting from overseas orders and increased business spending on capital equipment. Quinlan estimates that factory orders fell by about 25 percent during the recession, but have recovered about one-third of that amount since last spring.

All catalogers want to capitalize on the recovering economy, but they're most likely still constrained by pretty tight budgets. To help catalogers learn how to prioritize their needs and tailor their printed catalogs to maximize revenue, All About ROI presented a Feb. 16 webinar called "Ways to Get More Bang for Your Paper Buck: How Combining Your Priorities and Paper Innovations Can Save You Money in 2010."

Economic crisis accelerates changes in the basic underlying business models of multichannel marketers, who have had to adapt in order to survive as consumers shut their wallets. Here are some of the ways business models have been radically and permanently altered.