An (almost) holiday-free compilation of five things you missed awaits you. We won't invoke any corny Christmas clichés, in the interest of urging you forward.
The queen of the catalog. Millennials could learn a lesson or two from the playbook of Lillian Vernon, who built a new retail segment from scratch.
Vernon, who was 88, died Monday. Women of a certain generation probably recognize her as the name behind the Lillian Vernon brand, sold through small mail-order catalogs delivered regularly to homes across North America.
Her niche? Low-cost products that could be monogrammed.
Vernon was born Lillian Menasche, a Jewish immigrant whose family fled Nazi Germany. She married and became a homemaker in Mount Vernon, N.Y.
She adopted the name of her town to launch a small business in 1951. Her first big hit was a personalized leather handbag. The secret was knowing which segment of the market to target: She advertised its sale in an issue of Seventeen magazine, and it took off.
Over the years, she expanded to a nationwide audience with her catalog, filled with kitschy and personalized products, along with a personal message from Vernon herself.
Lillian Vernon was the first company owned by a women to be listed on the American Stock Exchange in 1987. It was the first to offer specialty and seasonal catalogs. At one point, Lillian Vernon had yearly revenue close to $300 million.
The company still exists, sold and sold again, but it is no longer the power retail merchandiser it was, thanks to online and on-demand shopping.
Gilt's shine fading. Gilt was touted as the next big thing in retail, but reports this week that it might be sold for one-fourth of its value certainly are turning heads, and not in a good way.
As someone tweeted, “Gilt got Gilt’d.”
Gilt was built in 2007 as a “flash sale” site. You had mere minutes to buy a deeply discounted piece, whether it be shoes or dresses. It was an immediate hit with the budget-minded but fashion-forward crowd; retailers liked it because it moved excess inventory.
Its CEO, Michelle Peluso, put off an IPO earlier this year, when it was apparent that profits weren't growing. The company also aligned itself with Apple TV as it ventures into shopping apps and planned a brick-and-mortar showroom at its New York City headquarters.
Yet, as Upstart Business Journal’s Teresa Novellino points out, Gilt and other flash sale sites are suffering as consumers move on to the Next Big Thing and competitors such as T.J. Maxx and Nordstrom Rack gain traction as a place to find off-price items.
One King’s Lane, which focuses on furniture, just laid off 25 percent of its staff. Zulily, which started with children’s clothing and expanded, sold in August to QVC for $18.75 per share, well below its initial public offering of $22 per share. Ideel just laid off employees, moved its headquarters to Chicago from New York and lost $30 million in 2013.
Gilt's likely buyer is Hudson’s Bay Co., the Canadian parent of Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue. It would likely leverage Gilt’s model to sell its own off-price merchandise branded under Fifth Brand.
Hallmark moment. What's the hottest cable channel? ESPN? AMC?
The Hallmark Channel.
Unlike other channels, suffering under the weight of cable-cutting, The Hallmark Channel is growing, thanks to an influx of Gen-X viewers. Advertising is up 17 percent over a year ago; profits are up 10 percent.
The channel and its sister station, Hallmark's Movies & Mysteries, enjoyed healthy gains in the 18-49 age group, a coveted demographic for advertisers. It's the No. 1 channel for women 25-54.
It doesn't hurt that this is Hallmark's most wonderful time of the year. Its "Countdown to Christmas" slate of endless sappy and/or romantic holiday movies (you know you watch them) is its biggest revenue maker; it's been one of the top five cable channels since Oct. 31. In 2015, 21 new titles are being broadcast in happy two-hour chunks.
When asked if there could be too much holiday programming, Michelle Vicary, the executive vice president for programming for Crown Media Family Networks (Hallmark's broadcasting arm) told Fortune, "Not for us. I’ve yet to hear anyone say, 'I can’t take another Hallmark Christmas movie!'"
Breaking a glass ceiling at the UN. Samantha Powers, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, is leading the charge to encourage nations to consider appointing a woman as the next UN Secretary-General.
She has written to all 193 member countries encouraging them to encourage nominating women as the Security Council begins deliberations next summer to replace Ban Ki-Moon.
The secretary-general, while picked by the Security Council, is drawn from nominations from other countries.
Funny girls. Female comedians are getting their own Internet platform to showcase comedy and writing with the new website, PYPP (“Put Your Pretty On”).
It’s being developed by Stephanie Laing, one of the producers of the HBO comedies “Veep” and “Eastbound & Down” and the upcoming “Vice Principals.”
That name sound girlie? Well, it was inspired by Laing’s daughter, who declared she wouldn’t go outside until she “put her pretty on.” Turned out “the pretty” was ChapStick, but it led to Laing’s realization that she would have to define — or redefine — what pretty is to the next generation of women.
It was also a matter of paying it forward to fellow female comedic actors and comedy writers.
The venture began as a blog; n ow it’s aiming to be a full-blown video channel.
Other comedy websites such as College Humor and Funny or Die do their fair share to bring women's issues into the forefront, such as the “Mad Men”-inspired video about the gender pay gap.
And Amy Schumer has lifted all boats with her highly successful year on “The Amy Schumer Show” and in “Trainwreck.”
But Laing was more motivated by the evidence that women don’t get near their fair share of leading roles in TV and film, and comedy isn’t immune.
Laing told The Outtake that creating a platform for women exclusively would do more than pay lip service to the inequity issue. It will feature original content and digital shorts, and she promises that both men and women will enjoy the shows.
Watch the trailer for pypo.com, launching on Jan. 4.
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