Specialty Catalog Corp., South Easton, MA, this week posted a first quarter loss of $39,629, partially attributed to increased customer generation efforts.
“We're investing into the customer reactivation program,” said Thomas McCain, senior vice president and chief financial officer of Specialty.
The company increased circulation and advertising programs for the domestic wig and hairpiece catalogs, Paula Young and Especially Yours.
List rental files for Paula Young and Especially Yours are managed by Walter Karl, a division of Donnelley Marketing, Pearl River, NY. The Paula Young file was enhanced last month with lifestyle and demographic information, according to Fran Golub, senior vice president, list management at Walter Karl. Counts, data cards and usage are available upon request.
Daxbourne, Specialty's U.K.-based cataloger of wigs and hairpieces, also improved its performance compared to the first quarter of 1999.
Western Schools, a marketer of continuing education correspondence courses, improved as well.
Specialty said American Healthcare Institute, which markets seminars and conferences to healthcare professionals, posted a downturn during the quarter ended April 1 because of the seasonal nature of its business.
Another factor in the company's overall loss was the discontinuation of the Paula's Hatbox catalog.
McCain did not wish to make any projections for the second quarter.
