Headsets.com

Each December I like to look back to see what the year brought, what news, trends and activities may have impacted the catalog/e-commerce industry. And 2005 was another eventful year. Mergers and acquisitions continued heating up. Kmart merged with Sears/Lands’ End. Private equity firm Bain Capital Partners bought multititle cataloger School Specialty. American Capital Strategies bought Potpourri Group. InterActive Corp. purchased Cornerstone Brands. In some ways this could be called the Year of the Private Investor. Private equity houses discovered something we already know: The catalog/e-commerce industry is dynamic and full of rich potential. My message to those private investors: “Welcome to

We here at Catalog Success are proud to once again honor a select group of merchants. The 2005 Catalog Success Catalogers of the Year represent some of the best minds in the industry. And their expertise runs the gamut: from branding to customer service to merchandising. Pat Connolly, chief marketing officer at Williams-Sonoma, is one of the catalog industry’s high priests of branding. Indeed, his skills in this area are legendary in the industry. And the results of his efforts are apparent: Williams-Sonoma’s direct division alone will account for about $1.5 billion of the company’s estimated $3.5 billion in sales this year. In our

On the following pages you’ll meet the winners of the fourth annual Catalogers of the Year awards. We’re honored to recognize the contributions these three professionals have made to the catalog and e-commerce industries. This year’s winners exemplify the astounding level of quality in branding, customer service and merchandising this industry enjoys. The winners include: 1. a former museum director who now sells museum shop-quality educational toys to a national audience via her catalog; 2. a transplanted Briton who has built a thriving company selling telephony equipment; and 3. an industry veteran whose reputation as a maverick in branding, direct marketing and channel-integration

While heading up two businesses in the late 1990s, Mike Faith had difficulty finding quality telephone headsets at reasonable prices. Even more frustrating was the substandard customer service he said he found among the companies in that field. He realized he could fill a void in the industry. “My entrepreneurial opportunity radar went berserk,” he recalls. “I saw too big an opportunity and had to capitalize on it. … That’s very much my style.” Six weeks later (in 1998), with $40,000 in startup capital, Faith established San Francisco-based Headsets.com where he now serves as president. The company, which primarily sells headsets and related