(CATALOG AGE)–Knight’s Direct, which mails the Home Decorators Collection and Soft Surroundings books, will discontinue mailing its women’s apparel catalog City Spirit at the end of the year.
Most of City Spirit’s 200 employees will be transferred to other divisions within Knight’s. About 10 employees in the merchandising, creative, and production departments will be laid off, said Knight’s executive vice president Lisa Brougham.
Within a little more than a year, the privately held Knight’s has gone from producing six titles to two. In 2001, the company folded its flagship title, women’s apparel book Knight’s Ltd., and its Shoe Studio footwear book. It subsequently closed another of its women’s clothing catalogs, Papillon. While Soft Surroundings sells some sleepwear and loungewear, it focuses largely on bedding and spa items. Home Decorators Collection sells home furnishings.
The City Spirit catalog accounted for only 9% of Knight’s total sales, which last year were nearly $170 million. “We haven’t been able to turn that business around,” Brougham said.
While she added that the company “was happy with City Spirits’ sales,” Knight’s felt that the healthier Home Decorators Collection and Soft Surroundings titles “were a better return on resources.”
City Spirit will continue mailing through the holiday season. A final, clearance edition will mail in January.
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