(Catalog Age) Six years after former owner Jemoli Versand, the Swiss mail order giant, closed down all 17 Appleseed’s stores, the women’s apparel cataloger has returned to retail. Last month the Beverly, MA-based mailer opened a store in Acton, MA, and another in Westwood, MA. Jemoli, which bought Appleseed’s in 1988, sold it in 1999 to a joint ownership of private equity firms Halpern Denny and Housatonic Partners, which still own the company.
Appleseed’s chairman/CEO Neale Attenborough explained that when Jemoli bought Appleseed’s in the early ‘90s, it "viewed the company as a U.S. retail beachhead." But while Appleseed’s was opening new stores, Jemoli also sought to change the firm’s target market.
Appleseed’s had long appealed to women 45 and older; Jemoli changed the merchandising to appeal to women ages 25-45. "It just didn’t work," Attenborough said. "So Jemoli decided to focus on catalog marketing, shutting down the stores, and refocusing on our former core customer."
Over the next ensuing years, Appleseed’s sales tripled, according to Attenborough, who won’t reveal the company’s revenue, and he felt the time was right to reenter the retail arena. "A significant portion of our target market doesn’t shop in catalogs, but predominately through specialty retail or department stores," he said. For the stores’ first month, sales have been ahead of expectations by "double digits," Attenborough said.
