Fingerhut

When catalog order management systems were first developed in the 1970s, they were designed to manage all aspects of catalog operations: from order entry, customer service and customer database management to response analysis, inventory management, purchasing, fulfillment, and returns. Thirty years later, they still are, which is why so many direct merchants can run their businesses on these applications without a need to add specialized solutions for things like warehouse management. Some companies, however, find their catalog management systems don’t provide the flexibility or sophistication they need to address their inventory or fulfillment challenges. For them, a warehouse management system (WMS) is a necessary

The most unlucky cataloger I ever knew was a food cataloger who watched helplessly in 1994 as its retail store in Northridge, CA, turned to rubble in a disastrous earthquake. A year later, the same cataloger was again forced to watch as its retail store in Japan literally slid into the ocean in the Kyoto earthquake. Next time you think the gods have singled out your catalog for special torment, remember this cataloger. Cataloging has seen its share of recent collapses and closures (e.g., Fingerhut, Springhill Nursery, Willis & Geiger, Balduccis). Several others have come right to the brink of disaster before

By Melissa Sepos Loyalty Program Takes to the Road The Web's third-largest shopping portal, AltaVista's Shopping.com, launched a new rewards program in July, to reward site users for browsing as well as shopping. While the loyalty program will help raise AltaVista's ranking among portals and pad its wallet through increased affiliate and partner marketing programs, it will also make having a presence at the site more useful for catalogers. Already signed on are Sundance, L.L. Bean, J. Crew and Fingerhut. AltaVista Rewards' members earn points for researching and comparing products, browsing, purchasing items after using the site's objective comparison shopping guide or

By Scott Shrake Producing and mailing a catalog can be a most expensive undertaking. With alternate media you can achieve some of the same goals as with a print catalog: Testing, driving customers (new or existing) to your e--commerce site and building awareness/loyalty. Speaking at the Annual Catalog Conference in June, Kevin Kotowski, of Olson Kotowski & Co. in Los Angeles, named some top reasons catalogers use alternate media, or "non-catalog pieces:" 1) cheaper prospecting than with full-sized catalog drops, since most alternate media are cheaper to produce and mail; 2) building and strengthening your customer relationships with name and

by Jack Schmid My first formal introduction to Marks & Spencer, England's giant retailer, was to fly to London to have lunch with the chairman. M&S was considering expanding its direct selling efforts into an expansion of its home catalog and into an apparel catalog. The chairman asked all the preliminary questions about our company's credentials and why M&S should employ an American catalog consultant. Apparently those questions were answered to his satisfaction, and he then asked the big question: "Why should M&S be in catalo-ging, anyway?" My answer had little to do directly with cataloging, but a lot to do with the topic

Fingerhut’s catalog production burdens are eased by developing mutually beneficial partnerships With print runs between 10,000 and 5 million—and product images that number in the hundreds of thousands—it is no surprise that Fingerhut, a Minnetonka, MN-based general-merchandising cataloger, required additional production support. Two years ago, while analyzing its prepress needs, Fingerhut looked to Quad/Graphics’ Digital Imaging Division, Minneapolis, to support Fingerhut’s own prepress division and digital photography studio, both housed in nearby Minnesota locales. Initially, what made Quad’s digital division appealing was Fingerhut’s long-established relationship with Quad/Graphics, one of the cataloger’s print partners. Fingerhut’s prepress volume caused the catalog publisher to analyze how integral

by Jack Schmid THE BIG IDEA! What direct marketer has not dreamed of coming up with that totally unique, breakthrough concept like the "Johnson Box" or the negative option club or another creative ploy that gives one immortality in industry recognition. Whether you're a designer, photographer, writer, printer or order form manufacturer, everyone is seeking that special creative technique that will help their work stand out, differentiate themselves from the competition and get better results. "Beat the Control!" is the cry of creative professionals. Let's look at a number of ways that successful catalogers are thinking "outside the box" in their creative efforts.

by Jack Schmid One of the classic questions that catalog creative managers face is how to manage their creative dollars and resources most effectively and productively. Small and medium-sized catalogs tend to outsource much of their creative effort and concentrate on the merchandising and marketing aspects of their business. Larger catalog companies typically develop their creative team inside because they know that they will produce six or eight or 10 books during the year and it's more productive and less expensive to own their staff and facilities. Even large catalogers, however, find occasions when they outsource certain projects or tasks to creative

by Jack Schmid What do all the following situations have in common? • You're launching a new catalog. • You're spinning off a catalog from an existing product line. • Your catalog design is flat, tired and you're re-thinking the look of the entire book. • You're considering adding an extra mailing to the season and want it to really stand out. Every one of these examples must deal with a common question: What's the size and shape (or format) of the new book going to be? Catalog format is often taken for granted. It is typically established by a previous creative team or