European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 04, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Rain of Cata logs clogs the Market by Wayne Curtis new York times analog retailers lace a lest of wits american shoppers ordered about $30 billion in merchandise from Cata logs last year. Bul judge a irom the slowdown in the number of new Catalon shoppers the Market in the United slates appears to be reaching the saturation Point last year. 88 5 million americans shopped by mail or phone according to the Simmons Market research Bureau a research firm that is a Rise of less than 1 percent irom 1987 earlier in the decade shopper numbers were growing by More than 12 percent a year the vast outpouring of Cata logs May have overwhelmed the Market causing a sales stagnation. Last year retailers in the United states mailed 12.4 billion of them More than double the number in 1980, according to the direct marketing association a Trade group thai is 50 Cata logs for every Man woman and child in America. And Competition is Only one threat to retailers. Stale tax Laws Are another although Catalon retailers have historically been exempt irom paying sales tax because most of their orders came irom out of stale some 20 Revenue hungry states have adopted Laws to collect them from mail order houses collecting the lax will add to the overhead of retailers especially Small ones not to mention testing the loyalties of customers. Retailers costs of prospecting Lor new customers also have risen in april 1988, the postal service increased third and fourth class postal Rales which affect Cata logs by As much As 30 percent that makes it less Cost effective for retailers to mail to t million households in Hopes of gelling orders from 2 percent of them. To Cope Many retailers Are trying to Cut costs. Many have abandoned the scattershot approach and Are narrowing their mailing lists to those most Likely to place orders to identity those prospects they Are relying on a new army of Dala base marketers and list brokers to develop sophisticated mathematical computer models for sorting demographic and other data. To distinguish themselves irom rivals and to Weld customer loyalties Catalon houses have become More service conscious Many Cata logs now include editorial matter and armed with demographic data some companies have developed separate editions for special audiences. For instance rather than offer just one i. Bean inc. Now mails 22 Cata logs on subjects As narrow As Fly fishing to accommodate the special interests of its customers stiffer Competition and the higher Cost of Landing new customers has made Catalon retailers More appreciative of their old customers and More eager to keep them Calalo Gers Are now working very hard to establish a relationship said Jovon Tucker president of the Jet direct marketing Corpa direct mail marketing firm. They re not looking for just a single  to strengthen loyalties some retailers Are trying to redefine the Catalon As something More than a sales device just As television commercials have to be More Clever to avoid being zapped Cata logs Are adding zest to avoid the wastebasket. Lands end inc. Was one of the pioneers adding employee profiles to its clothing Cata logs in 1981. And the company has since expanded on that theme. Recent Cata logs have included profiles of american crafts people travel features and product pieces like a Story on How Cashmere sweaters Are made. Its Cata logs Are even mailed every month More like a Magazine. We feel we re competing with other publications that come into your House whether it s the new York times or time Magazine said Terry Wilson a lands end spokesman. As one might expect the editorial Content often reflects he products being sold. Williams Sonoma s cookware Cata logs often feature recipes. Recreational equipment inc s outdoor equipment Cata logs provide technical information on sporting gear and features on the company s environmental positions. Some retailers expect the editorial Content to do Tor their Cata logs what an informed sales staff can do for a store. When you go into a store today it s hard to find a Well informed salesperson to help you make a selection said Robert Longendyke of Spiegel inc. We think he Niche the Catalon can fill is in informative  indeed Spiegel now produces self improvement video tapes thai Are designed to help sell items in its Cata logs. Its first video on fashion tips Lor Large women sold 26.000 copies at $12.95. Although not directly tied to Spiegel s specially Catalon Lor larger women the video introduced last year comes with a $10 merchandise certificate. People who bought the video Are buying approximately twice As much As those who requested Only the Catalon Longendyke said. The company released a second tape on Home decorating in february. Spiegel markets the videos through direct mail campaigns and its Cata logs but in the fall ii plans to place them in video rental outlets to see whether that approach can increase their circulation. Still not everyone is ready to endorse these so called Magal Ogues and ideologues. Richard Hodgson a Catalon consultant in West own pa., warns that in their bid to entertain Catalon marketers May lose sight of their purpose to sell. Retailers he said would be Wiser to View these hybrids at least philosophically As  the idea of charging customers Lor Cata logs May seem ridiculous. Bui the concept could be just the ticket to offset retailers higher postal expenses and winnow browsers from their mailing lists. People who  for Cata logs after All Are More Likely to place orders. And mail order retailers Are not the Only ones benefiting irom Catalon sales. Entrepreneurs who sell Catalon directories to the Public Are. Too. Ii May sound strange but people want Cata logs and Are willing to  Lor them said Harold Schwartz president of nationwide shopper systems inc. In Burbank calif., one of at least two Catalon clearinghouses. A worker hand labels some specially ordered Cata logs t Freeport Maine. The company distributes Cata logs of w clothing to try to Shang accessories. Dip in cafes Catalon sales by Mary Neth staff writer t s the most battered Book on the Library shelves. Practically new. It has been thumbed through so often that it has almost fallen apart is the staff at the Rhein main a Library in West Germany upset not at All it shows that our program of making mail order Cata logs available is worthwhile says Sharon Mckenna assistant librarian. We Are Happy to see that they Are being  in the United states a flood of new titles seemingly has clogged the Catalon Market. Sales by the Book there Aren t increasing by leaps As in past years. Cafes also has seen a dip in sales from its Cata logs. Last year sales to customers in Europe were Down 16 percent and 12 percent by customers in the Pacific compared to fiscal 1987. Sales by customers through cafes Cata logs handled by Navy Marine corps and coast guard stores dropped 23 percent. Mail order sales to the old department store standbys j. C. Penney and Sears Lor example by members of the overseas military however seem to be remaining steady. Mckenna says there has been no Slack in requests to borrow or browse these Library stocked Cata logs. The Library allows one to two week checkout of Cata logs it has in duplicate. When Only one copy is available patrons do their shopping in the Library. There is always a Long wait for the checkout books says Mckenna. We be seen no tack of interest in Catalon shopping Here she adds. Besides Cata logs irom . Penney co. Inc. And Sears Roebuck & co., the Library has mail order books from Ikea . Whitney & company Bright s Creek , bean Lane Bryant and Spiegel inc. Library stall themselves Are big users buying everything from household goods to tools to clothing through the mail. To put in an order to Sears about every three months says Blanc Bailey. I use them even when i am in the United slates but not As much As overseas her main orders Are for childrens clothing she says i never can find the sizes i want at the by she explains. Cathy Tapey is a . Penney Catalon customer. The last order i placed was for closet Racks and shoe stretchers she says. Jean Howell uses several Cata logs and confines most of her orders to clothing saying that she finds the Quality better than that available through local shopping. Mckenna also uses Cata logs for wardrobe purchases. I buy practically no clothing from the by Page 14 the stars and stripes she says. Either i Sev from the United stale  All four of the Home received excellent ser companies. There has never b returning an item. I a automatic credit to a amount of Purchase p return postage says delivery is fast weeks says Howell. Overseas could Lake a Cata logs that Aren t Library or Community s ordered direct from in purchased at a stars 1 the bookstores not different Catalon titles ranging from autos o household goods to t and lingerie prices a average up to $7 be $10 Speig Ellno the 89-90 Exchange now being shipped to sell for $3. Each will c off the Purchase of $2 merchandise. Addition discount is being Offe purchased before oct merchandise except through a the Catalon publications subscript. ,. Monday Vej Tii