CATALOG MARKET OUTLOOK --Sales on Back Order

Perry Judd's Inc. has seen its catalog customers reacting in several ways to the economic climate, reports Craig Hutchison, president and CEO of the Waterloo, WI-based printer. "For one, they are reducing page counts by culling marginally performing products from their offerings to customers. Typical reductions in page counts might be in the 10 to 20 percent range of the historic base number of pages for any given production," he says. "In addition, we are seeing adjustments in the level of prospecting done—down as much as 50 percent from 2001 levels (pre- 9/11)—by some catalog clients as a means of reducing costs.