Company Store

The Company Store hasn't sent many flash-sale emails. In fact, among the 133 emails captured by Who's Mailing What! this year, only one recent email used the flash-sale strategy. However, The Company Store clearly did its homework.

For this edition, I perused several catalog Web sites to see how good a job catalogers do in explaining who they are. Naturally, many consumers want to get a good idea of who they’re doing business with. If your company comes off in something of a faceless manner, some might be put off. On the other hand, consumers take heart in knowing where you’re located, what you’re all about, where you’re coming from and in some cases, who founded you. It’s a fairly easy thing to do, especially on the Web. By in large, I found that most handle their “about this company”

Farley Nachemin, chief merchandising officer of The Company Store Group, Hanover Direct, sheds some light on why it’s worthwhile to cultivate good vendor relationships. Nachemin most recently was president of Hanover’s Domestications catalog. He recently spoke with Alicia Orr Suman, contributing editor. Catalog Success: Why are vendor relations so important? Nachemin: Along with paper and postage, merchandise is a major expense for a cataloger. You can achieve price opportunities, flexibility and other benefits from good vendor relations. For private-label merchandise, vendor relationships are vital for ensuring that you get the quality and good service you expect. CS: Why is flexibility crucial? Nachemin: It

By Stephen Lett Alsto's. The Company Store. Garnet Hill. Martha By Mail. Williamsburg. Pottery Barn. Frontgate. Good Catalog. The Land of Nod. Linen & Lace. Restoration Hardware. Ross-Simons. Sundance. What do these catalogs have in common? They have all eliminated the use of a separate bind-in order form with envelope typically found in the center of a catalog. These catalog companies employ a lot of smart people, so why would they make the decision to discontinue using a bind-in order form with envelope? What was their thought process? What should you do? This month, we will review the order form in detail

Ooh, pretty—that’s the feeling one gets leafing through bedding catalogs. All the linens look crisp, fresh and inviting. But, from synthetic to the real stuff, nothing evokes the desire to crawl in and curl up quite like a down comforter. So it was surprising that several of the catalogs reviewed this month do not show their down comforters on a bed. And with the broad array of weights, materials and colors available for today’s down comforters, it was odd that only two catalogs of those surveyed offered the comforters in colors other than white. James Padgitt, president and chief catalog consultant of