Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Not Getting J.Crew's Catalog? {there's a reason}

There is an interesting article from the Associated Press (click here to read it in its entirety) about the reduction in mail.

As recession wears on, the mail's a little lighter
By Ashley M. Heher

August 25, 2009


You can find a bright spot in the recession as close as your mailbox: There are far fewer hefty catalogs, bulging coupon packets, unwanted credit card offers and glossy fliers clogging it up.


Thanks to the economic downturn and rising shipping costs, junk mail volume was down 16 percent from last fall to this summer, on pace for the steepest annual decline in decades.


Businesses that are still sending junk mail are sending less of it — shrinking their catalogs and using thinner paper to save money. It's a sign stores are still struggling, but it also means less paper to toss in the garbage or lug to the recycling bin.


...J.Crew Group Inc. cut its catalog circulation by 27 percent earlier this year.


...The reprieve from overstuffed mailboxes will probably end as the economy revives. Catalogs, pamphlets and flyers remain among the cheapest and most effective ways to market and sell products and draw new shoppers into stores.


Catalogs, on average, generate $7 in sales for every dollar it takes to publish and mail them, industry data show. They also give customers a taste of a store's carefully cultivated image, like the modern-yet-unpretentious aesthetic of Crate & Barrel or the all-American preppy flair of J.Crew.


Web sites and e-mail promotions are growing in popularity and are far cheaper for businesses — they get a $45 return on every dollar — but they fall short of catalogs in drumming up new business.


"When you go farther into the Web site, you get a great assortment of products, but it's hard to keep up with that lifestyle feel," Neil O'Keefe, a vice president of multichannel segments at the Direct Marketing Association. "But with a catalog, with every page you turn, you're able to convey that lifestyle and that brand." ...


I didn't realize that J.Crew had reduced its circulation by that much! I love my J.Crew catalogs so much that if I don't get sent one, I will make it a point to pick one up at the brick & mortar (B&M) store.

What are your thoughts on the article? Do you still receive catalogs from J.Crew? Have you been "cut" from the circulation list? ;)

18 comments:

  1. Nope-thankfully still on the list and got my new catalog in the mail today!

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  2. I'm still getting the catalogs, though I seem to receive them weeks after everyone else. I end up going to the B&M and picking up a copy there just in case. Which raises another question of why some get their catalogs sooner than others....isn't all that pressing. Just more curiosities from our favorite retailer. :)

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  3. There is another reason why people are not getting their catalog, they are ordering from on-line rather than ordering from the book, this is how my name got dropped from the list. I now order using the cataloq # from time to time, and I am receiving the cataloq again.

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  4. I stopped receiving mine around 6 months ago. Alexis, i do the same thing- I stop by the sto eto picl one up,lol!
    Casual-crew makes perfect sense- I haven't ordered through the catalogue, ever, I do my shopping through the store or on-line.

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  5. I haven't received a catalog in the mail for about 2 years now, despite my repeated attempts to get back on the list and repeated promises that I HAVE been put back on the list...so irritating! (although my husband received one the other day...haha!)

    I wonder how they picked which customers to cut back on? Those who haven't placed an order in a certain amount of time?

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  6. I am guessing I am in casual-crew's explanation of why I don't get catalogs. I actually have never ordered using the catalog #, even when I was getting them regularly. Guess I should start!

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  7. Interesting. I stopped receiving the catalog in the mail at the beginning of the summer.

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  8. I think I get some but not all of the catalogs. I don't order from the catalog, but I do use it to figure out what I want to order on-line. Don't they know that?

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  9. I just received mine yesterday which I thought was a little late considering when the items appeared online. They could save money by not sending the Crewcuts catalog to people who have asked not to receive it. I keep getting them even though I have no need to purchase anything for a child. Same thing happens with the Boden catalog.

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  10. I am an original J. Crew customer and have begged to get on their mailing list without any luck. I only visit the outlet because the online site is too overwhelming.

    They've basically lost a good customer since they refuse to mail me a catalog!

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  11. I am still getting catelogs! Thankfully! I don't visit the B&M stores that often (1) because it is rather far, and (2) because they don't carry petites. So the catelog and online shopping are where I spend all my money. I think they know better than to cut me! :)

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  12. I've signed up on-line to receive the catalog and ... never get one. It's not the economy, it's just incompetence.

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  13. I didn't get the fall catalog until yesterday. Since I'd already read so much about it here, I went into a B&M to pick one up. The interesting thing it it is bigger than the mail one - 124 pgs B&M, 70-something mail.

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  14. I got cut a long time ago. Actually, I think I'm blacklisted! They must know I visit the web site all the time or will show up at the store once a month or so. A few times, SAs at the store have tried to get me back on the catalog list but to no avail.

    Once, I did use my dog's name to request a catalog, and it came!

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  15. I always get the catalogs and not the small ones, the full-length version. The same version is also mailed to my husband at our house in the city and at our country house. We've asked them to pare it down to a single catalog several times, to no avail.

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  16. I haven't gotten the catalog in about 15 years! One good thing about not getting it (I guess) is that I don't see all the cute outfits all put together and then start ordering a bunch of stuff... kind of works against the company though, eh?

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  17. For some reason they sent me only the men's catalog for a while and then switched back to sending me only the regular catalog (I may order the occasional gift, but 99% of my items are from the men's section of the website). You'd think that if they were trying to save money, they'd send the (much thinner) men's catalog to more customers.

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  18. I haven't received a catalog in almost 2 years, and I'm certain it's because I don't order from the catalog+Jcrew is trimming their send list. I was getting double catalogs before that because a red phone order resulted misspelled my name. Now I pick one up at the store, but it feels silly when I could just look around at the merchandise. Plus, that means no chances at juicy coupons hiding inside. Aww.

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