The new Fingerhut fall/winter catalog, which dropped Nov. 9, will appeal to the same sub-prime-credit demographic as the old Fingerhut catalog.
“That’s what works in our opinion,” said Mary Pernula, spokesperson for the Deikel-Petters group.
The company will offer its own line of credit and an installment-plan payment schedule just as the old book did. The customer credit-scoring models will be based on the previous company’s.
The merchandise—housewares, domestics, toys, furniture and electronics—will also reflect that previously featured.
Pernula declined to reveal the circulation for the 216-page catalog. She said it was mailing to “former Fingerhut customers,” and wouldn’t comment on prospecting plans.
When Fingerhut closed in mid-January 2002, there were 4.1 million active buyers.
December 2001 sales totaled $209 million, down from $262 million during the same period in 2000.
Many observers felt at the time Fingerhut was shuttered that if parent Federated Department Stores Inc., had been more culturally aligned with Fingerhut, the catalog could have survived.
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