Just consider the numbers...

I just received info on a few mailing lists that are available, as I do every week. Here are some highlights I thought I would share with you.

"The Baker's Catalogue"-290,000 12-month buyers, 7 out of 10 being female. Actually I'm surprised at the "7 out of 10" number, I thought it would be even more slanted towards females but probably quite a few men buy in their names to purchase gifts for females. My wife gets this catalog and we've ordered a couple of times. They didn't list the average sale but I'm guessing it is probably $40-$60, which would mean annual sales of between $11,600,000 to $17,400,000. Not a bad number when you consider this catalog is owned by the "King Arthur Flour" company and is probably somewhat of an afterthought to their wholesale business.

"The Vitamin Healthmart"-This is a direct mail company that has 188,000 12-month buyers. These folks sell St. John's Wart, weight control products and various health care products. The average sale is $39.99, which would mean annual sales of over $7,000,000 per year, all through direct mail.

"The Bradford Exchange" catalog-Hard to believe, 904,000 12-month buyers, don't know the average ticket but you are certainly looking at tens of millions of dollars for painted plates.

"The Sundance Catalog"-Started by Robert Redford back in the late 80's. They sell a variety of apparel and gift items. 174,000 12-month buyers... 67% female.

Even with all the talk of recession a lot of people are still buying a lot of non-essential items aren't they? The good old off-line marketing world is still cranking out a lot of sales isn't it.

Take care,

Mike Winicki