Catalog Solutions surveyed small- to mid-sized specialty food catalog companies and found positive news about the economy.

In a recent survey of 90 small to mid-sized specialty food catalog companies conducted by Catalog Solutions, Richardson, Tex., 91 percent reported sales growth for 2003. Twenty percent of those reported sales growth greater than 20 percent, and the median growth rate for all companies surveyed was 15 percent.

Although the final year-end profitability numbers were not yet determined when the survey was conducted in early January, most companies surveyed also felt profits would show an increase of 15 to 20 percent. Reasons given for the increase were:

-Sales rose faster than marketing expenses.

-A higher percent of orders were taken online (22 percent in 2002 vs. 28 percent in 2003), which lowered order-processing costs.

-Shipping and handling charges on orders rose, more than offsetting increased delivery expenses.

-A rebound in corporate gift sales occurred, increasing the average order sizes.

"We found several common traits of food catalogers who experienced above-average growth rates this past holiday season," said Tony Cox,
president of Catalog Solutions, a specialty foods catalog consulting firm. For example, many food mailers suffered low mid-season sales and those that made quick adjustments to their mail plan, corrected the problems and made significant sales in December. Also, those who mailed aggressively to their customer list had the best results."

Catalog Solutions serves as an outsourced mail order and online marketing department for specialty food companies. The company analyzes, plans and implements its clients' direct marketing programs, so they don't have to.
Catalog Solutions is the only catalog consulting firm that works exclusively in the specialty food industry. Its clients are smaller specialty food businesses as well as large companies with small mail order divisions.

For more information, contact:
Tony Cox
President, Catalog Solutions
4472 Copper Mountain Lane
Richardson, TX 75082
972.907.1464
mailto:tony@catalogsolutions.net
http://www.catalogsolutions.net

or

Lois Carter Fay, APR
Founder, MarketingIdeaShop.com
Publisher, "MarketingIdeaShop BRAINY Tidbits" Weekly Ezine
Brainy ideas & resources for marketers & small businesses
411 Rainier Road, Massanutten, VA 22840 USA
540.289.3840 or 800.203.8660
http://www.marketingideashop.com
mailto:lcf@marketingideashop.com