A Chat with April’s Profile, A.G. Russell and Goldie Russell, president and CEO, A.G. Russell Knives
April 2007
|
© Profile of Success, Catalog Success magazine, April 2007
Interview by Matt Griffin
Catalog Success: When was the A.G. Russell catalog established?
Goldie Russell: The mail order company was started in 1964. He didn’t actually mail a catalog for a period of time. Mostly it was space ads. I don’t know when you printed the first catalog, but I imagine that wasn’t until the ‘70s.
A.G. Russell: Actually it was the late ‘60s. As soon as I had enough names to start mailing. You’d have to define catalog. I don’t know how it was defined in the late ‘60s, but I was mailing folded brochures, then later stapled.
Goldie: What we would call self-mailers today.
A.G.: I got into brochures pretty early. You do a color brochure with a letter, an order form and a return envelope. It’s totally different today.
CS: Where are your headquarters?
Goldie: We’re located in Rogers Arkansas. We’ve been located in northwest Arkansas since 1964. A.G. started the company out of his home there, then moved to Springdale, Ark., just down the road. Then in 2002, we moved into a new facility in what is now Rogers, just off the interstate. So we’re much more visible and accessible now.
CS: And your primary merchandise is knives?
A.G.: That was almost totally true until 1998. In 1997, we started a new catalog. The Christmas catalog of Russell’s for Men mailed in January of 1998. That’s a gift catalog for men.
Goldie: Has anyone sent you catalogs yet? I want to let you know that the Russell’s for Men Web site is not indicative of the catalog. The Web site needs work. It’s old. We rebuilt the A.G. Russell Web site two years ago, and had started work on the Russell’s for Men site when we lost the employee who was doing that. That site is a big project for this year.
CS: What’s your annual circ?
Goldie: About 5 million.
CS: And the number of SKUs?
Goldie: Actually in inventory, it’s about 3,000. Any given catalog carries about 300. But the Web site is much deeper.
CS: What are your primary customer demographics?
Goldie: Definitely male. Age 45 to 65. Strongly oriented towards hunting and shooting. What I like to call the rugged outdoors type. A.G. doesn’t like the word rugged. It’s that shooting, hunting traditional.
Interview by Matt Griffin
Catalog Success: When was the A.G. Russell catalog established?
Goldie Russell: The mail order company was started in 1964. He didn’t actually mail a catalog for a period of time. Mostly it was space ads. I don’t know when you printed the first catalog, but I imagine that wasn’t until the ‘70s.
A.G. Russell: Actually it was the late ‘60s. As soon as I had enough names to start mailing. You’d have to define catalog. I don’t know how it was defined in the late ‘60s, but I was mailing folded brochures, then later stapled.
Goldie: What we would call self-mailers today.
A.G.: I got into brochures pretty early. You do a color brochure with a letter, an order form and a return envelope. It’s totally different today.
CS: Where are your headquarters?
Goldie: We’re located in Rogers Arkansas. We’ve been located in northwest Arkansas since 1964. A.G. started the company out of his home there, then moved to Springdale, Ark., just down the road. Then in 2002, we moved into a new facility in what is now Rogers, just off the interstate. So we’re much more visible and accessible now.
CS: And your primary merchandise is knives?
A.G.: That was almost totally true until 1998. In 1997, we started a new catalog. The Christmas catalog of Russell’s for Men mailed in January of 1998. That’s a gift catalog for men.
Goldie: Has anyone sent you catalogs yet? I want to let you know that the Russell’s for Men Web site is not indicative of the catalog. The Web site needs work. It’s old. We rebuilt the A.G. Russell Web site two years ago, and had started work on the Russell’s for Men site when we lost the employee who was doing that. That site is a big project for this year.
CS: What’s your annual circ?
Goldie: About 5 million.
CS: And the number of SKUs?
Goldie: Actually in inventory, it’s about 3,000. Any given catalog carries about 300. But the Web site is much deeper.
CS: What are your primary customer demographics?
Goldie: Definitely male. Age 45 to 65. Strongly oriented towards hunting and shooting. What I like to call the rugged outdoors type. A.G. doesn’t like the word rugged. It’s that shooting, hunting traditional.
Companies Mentioned:
 |
|
