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Starting Small and Personal: Vernon Grows Her Company

Article Overview: The Lillian Vernon Corporation was now in business. Vernon took the names and addresses of her first 50 customers and recorded them on 3” x 5” index cards, along with their purchase history. As her company grew, she kept updating these cards and tried to eliminate any duplication.

Starting Small and Personal: Vernon Grows Her Company

The Lillian Vernon Corporation was now in business. Vernon took the names and addresses of her first 50 customers and recorded them on 3” x 5” index cards, along with their purchase history. As her company grew, she kept updating these cards and tried to eliminate any duplication.

With $32,000 in orders, Vernon found that her kitchen table was no longer a sufficient production facility and so in 1954, she rented a storefront. Soon, she took over the building next door as well as the store across the street, which became the shipping department. Two years later, the very first black and white, 16-page Lillian Vernon Catalog was published. She sent it to her over 250,000 customers who had already bought her purse and belt sets. From there, the company never looked back.

By 1970, the Lillian Vernon Corporation had annual sales of over $1 million. They were beginning to manufacture custom-designed products for other companies as well, including Elizabeth Arden, Max Factor and Revlon. Her product line expanded from purses and belts to include combs, buttons and other personalized wares. In 1974, the company opened its first retail store in Mount Vernon and its growth continued to accelerate. By 1988, it was making over $115 million per year in sales and it had opened a national distribution centre in Virginia, which was equipped with state-of-the-art IBM technology.

Soon to follow was the opening of an outlet store and a call centre in Virginia. The company relocated from Mount Vernon to New Rochelle, New York and later Rye, New York. They began offering their products on the Shopping Network as well as expanding the range and scope of their catalogs. A second outlet store opened in Delaware and soon, the Lillian Vernon Corporation would have 17 outlet stores across the nation.

In 1995, the company experienced another period of dramatic growth with the launch of its website. In seven years, Vernon’s Internet sales had increased by 70% and it became ranked one of the Top 25 Retail Websites by Internet Retailer. Business Ethics Magazine also ranked the company one of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens and its catalogs were found to be one of the 10 most popular catalogs in America. In 2003, the company began licensing its name, further expanding its profits.

Today, Lillian Vernon Corp. sells its over 700 gifts, household, children’s and fashion accessory products through five catalogs – Lillian Vernon, Favorites, Lilly's Kids, Personalized Gifts and a sale catalog – two websites and 17 outlet stores. Since 1951, over 130 million orders have been shipped, most of which were personalized. According to an Opinion Research Poll, over 47 million Americans know the Lillian Vernon name. The company was sold in 2003 and is now under the ownership of Sun Capital Partners, with its headquarters in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Despite having sold her brainchild, Vernon herself continues to go to its offices four days a week and maintains a consultative role in the company’s operations.

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Article Tags: custom designed products, dramatic growth, elizabeth arden, index cards, internet sales, kitchen table, launch, lillian vernon catalog, lillian vernon corporation, max factor, names and addresses, national distribution centre, new rochelle new york, outlet store, outlet stores, purchase history, revlon, rye new york, shipping department, shopping network



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