Leather retailer smooths business plan in weak economy
Jacqueline Berger, president of an online leather retailer, realized that if she was going to make it through a frail economy, she'd have to change her business plan.
About six months ago, she started a sales campaign with her six employees that incorporates making cold calls to potential corporate customers.
For the past 11 years, Berger had relied on repeat business and word-of-mouth to grow her business, LeatherTree.com, a supplier of high-end quality leather goods.
The results for the Island Lake-based business were "astounding," Berger said.
"We were hoping to simply maintain sales and not lose money, and we ended up (ranked) 426th on Internet Retailer Magazines top 500 retailer list," Berger said.
Corporate customers order leather desk sets and desk accessories. Leather binders with debossed company logos were a hot item during the recent push.
Corporate accounts make up about 10 percent of the company's orders and about 40 percent of its sales.
The growing company sells everything from $30 leather key chains to $2,500 ostrich briefcases. Briefcases are the major product that the company sells. Berger works with manufactures to bring the products from mainly Italy and the U.S.
For the holiday season, popular gifts include leather journals and jewelry boxes. Monograms are also available. Christmas and graduation are the busy seasons for the Lake County business.
Berger started the company as an Internet gift shop more than a decade ago in the basement of her home. She left her 12-year career as a director of sales of marketing at Sprint to launch the business.
"I got the entrepreneurial bug," she said, adding that it was a good time to start an Internet business, as the industry was just taking off.
After three years running the gift business, she found that the leather sales outsold everything else. She then placed all her focus on selling leather products.
The quality of the leather goods is important to Berger. "We scrutinize our manufacturers. This has resulted in a lot of repeat business," said Berger, 59.
She said their Web site features quality pictures so shoppers can really see what they're buying.
The Internet has played an important role in Berger's professional and personal life. She met her husband about 13 years ago while in an online chat room. The couple "talked" online for a year before they met. They were married a year later.
"I do everything online - shop, pay bills. I'm like a cyber robot," she said with a laugh.
The couple lived in Wheaton before buying a home on Island Lake. Her husband left his career as an executive of a printing company three years ago to join the growing business. He now serves as vice president of finance for LeatherTree.com. Free shipping is provided for all products.
Berger is finding that with the weaker economy, the higher-priced leather products continue to sell very well. For more information, check out LeatherTree.com.