Focus On: Merchandising: Show 'Em Your Wares

Focus on the product
Product is the single most important aspect of a profitable catalog business and is central to nonprofits using catalogs, retail stores and Internet sites. Increasing revenue per catalog is all about increasing the number of products, pages and page density.

“Product development is one of my major concentrations,” says Liz Grainer, executive director for retail marketing at The Art Institute of Chicago. “How products in the retail stores, catalog and on the Internet site relate to the institute’s collection and mission is a key to success. The institute in the past five years has moved from having 60 percent of the product being open-market vendor merchandise to 60 percent proprietary-developed product unique to the institute. The products relate to the institute’s collection, different cultures and exhibitions in progress.”