Garnet Hill

Through a software analysis program, Garnet Hill, an apparel and home décor cataloger, has gained a greater ability to measure its customers’ satisfaction. The Franconia, N.H.-based cataloger’s customers are asked to rate their satisfaction levels based on one question: “Would you recommend us to a friend or colleague?” The corresponding numerical response ranges from zero to 10 — least to most satisfied. In a session at the NEMOA Conference in Cambridge, Mass. a couple of weeks ago, Matt Glerum, vice president of marketing and business development at Garnet Hill, discussed this program, called Net Promoter by Satmetrix, and how it has helped

Below is a comprehensive list of all the articles published in Catalog Success magazine in 2007. If you would like to view stories by issue date, click here. You can also use the Article Archive to search by keyword or topic. CATALOGER PROFILES Cover Stories Chinaberry: “Reinventing the Wheel” by Paul Miller, January After 5/Surf to Summit: “Kayaking and Cocktails” by Paul Miller, February Patagonia: “Shiny Happy People” by Matt Griffin, May Garnet Hill: “A Natural Issue” by Carolyn Heinze, June Fair Indigo: “Playing Fair” by Paul Miller, August The Nailco Group: “More Than Skin Deep” by Carolyn

You’d think that writing an article addressing methodologies to determine which products to feature on a Web site vs. a print catalog would be a no-brainer, right? Web pages are unlimited; printed pages are expensive real estate. It’s easy: Just put your best-sellers in the catalog and dump everything else you have in stock on your site. How difficult can that be? Most Web sites feature the full assortment of products offered by a company, but exposure on a catalog page is a more deliberate decision. For Russ Gaitskill, president/CEO of the Garnet Hill home furnishings and apparel catalog, decisions for catalog products are based

An impromptu trip from Denmark to England started it all. It was the summer of 1973, and while traveling in Denmark, Grant Dowse and Pegge Kirschner decided to take a road trip to England. To make the car comfortable enough to camp in, they bought, among other things, a cotton flannel sheet. They eventually brought the sheet home with them, and later ordered a similar item from an American mail order company. But it wound up being a synthetic version of the English flannel sheet they’d purchased in Europe. That transaction inspired them to launch their own mail order business. Married three years

For years now, Garnet Hill, a Franconia, N.H.-based apparel and home furnishings cataloger, has placed follow-up calls whenever customers encounter a problem with the company. Specifically, 24 to 48 hours after a customer complaint, Garnet Hill calls the customer and casually asks how the problem was handled and if it was resolved. Smart and sensitive upselling techniques make Garnet Hill’s customers feel cared about. Liberal employee discounts have its employees wearing the clothing and using the products it sells, so it’s easy for them to personalize the experience. This “touchy-feely” group has products open and laying around so reps literally can get their

Writing this issue of The Corner View from Cambridge, Mass., during the Spring NEMOA conference this week, I found myself reflecting on the types of people who attend this conference, as well as the types of people in this industry today. Although the catalog business has undergone much consolidation over the years, which has stripped some companies of their entrepreneurial spirit, when you come to a NEMOA, it reinforces the industry’s ages-old character. NEMOA people are warm, caring, entrepreneurial and very social. They share a unique passion for the catalog business. In many respects, they’re indicative of the traditional cataloger. But guess what? They’re

Sur La Table 163,680 56,295 191 $85 cookware Mokrynskidirect 12/06 9/05 Dog.com 139,829 51,031 174 $115 pet supplies List Locators 9/06 5/05 & Managers Knit Picks 73,502 27,347 169 $60 crafts Walter Karl 6/06 6/05 Cutter & Buck 70,938 30,555 132 $147 men’s apparel Mokrynskidirect 1/07 1/06 Kinsman Co. 27,090 12,695 113 $83 gardening supplies D-J Associates 12/06 9/05 Fannie May Confections 72,173 34,794 107 $36 candy, chocolates Millard Group 11/06 10/05 Leichtung Workshops 20,312 9,958 104 $52 woodworking tools Names & 9/06 7/05 Addresses Orion Telescopes 33,445 16,849 99 $175 telescopes Millard Group and Binoculars 7/06 7/05 Time for Me 141,411 71,958 97 $95 women’s apparel Mokrynskidirect 1/07 10/05 Siegel Display Products 33,569 17,474 92 $300 promotional display products Direct Media 10/06 10/05 Smith & Hawken 140,722 74,971 88 $125 gardening supplies Belardi/Ostroy ALC 11/06 10/05 Redding Medical 13,689 7,642 79 $95 nursing supplies Fasano and 12/06 8/05 Associates Penn Herb Co. Ltd. 26,459 14,837 78 $54 natural remedies Walter Karl 4/06 5/05 MidWest Edwin Watts Golf 328,416 185,448 77 $250 golf equipment Venture Direct 8/06 5/05 Worldwide Staples 3,843,101 2,183,681 76 $250 office products Direct Media 12/06 11/05 Sporty’s Men’s Collection 12,926 7,368 75.4 N/A men’s recreational products Millard Group 1/07 5/05 New England Business 1,114,626 636,766 75 $120 office products MeritDirect Service (NEBS) 12/06 9/05

For years now catalogers have been talking about the rise of niche players: catalogs with unique products serving relatively small customer bases. This year's list of the top 200 catalogs as measured by customer (housefile) growth rates brings that trend into stark relief. As you'll see on the fourth-annual Catalog Success Top 200 list (pg. 15), some fast--growing catalogers have hung their hats on unique merchandise offerings. For example, Music Stand (No. 1) sells music-themed apparel, gifts and accessories; M&M's World (No. 2) markets licensed products with the candy theme; and Nu Nubian (No. 15) offers Africa-themed textiles, books and other goods. No

For years now catalogers have been talking about the rise of niche players: catalogs with unique products serving relatively small customer bases. This year’s list of the top 200 catalogs as measured by customer (housefile) growth rates brings that trend into stark relief. As you’ll see on the fourth-annual Catalog Success Top 200 list (pg. 15), some fast--growing catalogers have hung their hats on unique merchandise offerings. For example, Music Stand (No. 1) sells music-themed apparel, gifts and accessories; M&M’s World (No. 2) markets licensed products with the candy theme; and Nu Nubian (No. 15) offers Africa-themed textiles, books and other goods. No hawkers

For years now catalogers have been talking about the rise of niche players: catalogs with unique products serving relatively small customer bases. This year's list of the top 200 catalogs as measured by customer (housefile) growth rates brings that trend into stark relief. As you'll see on the fourth-annual Catalog Success Top 200 list (pg. 15), some fast--growing catalogers have hung their hats on unique merchandise offerings. For example, Music Stand (No. 1) sells music-themed apparel, gifts and accessories; M&M's World (No. 2) markets licensed products with the candy theme; and Nu Nubian (No. 15) offers Africa-themed textiles, books and other goods. No