Catalyst's Fall Outdoor Guide Open for Business

November 8, 2005 - BOULDER, CO   In the hotly-contested battle for holiday dollars, big box stores and mass merchants historically had an advantage over independent retailers - foot traffic.

This year independent outdoor stores leveled the playing field releasing The Outdoor Guide, a customized, high quality color catalog that mailed to a healthy 215,000 customers early this month.

November's campaign makes The Guide the industry's most widely distributed syndicated catalog. The program allows retailers to customize their version of the Guide from a menu of pages. Each page features products from prime brands like Patagonia, Mountain Hardware and Royal Robbins.

"I started Catalyst to solve a problem," Bohm said. "I owned an outdoor manufacturing business and it drove me nuts that I'd make great products but consumers wouldn't know about them. We've become the industry standard in helping suppliers work with retailers to bring a story to their customers."

Bohm reports that two Florida-based retailers, Black Creek Outfitters and Travel Country Outdoors, are using a control group study to track sales results from the Fall Guide. "We're updating the proven lift reported last season. Manufacturers' sales teams tracked additional orders too," he said. "This level of traceability simply is a significant advantage over other promotional media."