Madison, WI – The Guild, Inc., the leading online retailer of original art and fine craft, today reported strong results for the holiday season and full year ended December 31, 2006. Overall sales for fourth quarter were up 45 percent over fourth quarter 2005, due primarily to additional catalog mailings, increased website traffic, and a higher conversion rate on The Guild’s artfulhome.com Web site. Holiday catalog sales were up 54 percent over 2005, reflecting the company’s investment in increased catalog circulation.
Web sales for fourth quarter 2006 were up 41 percent over the previous period in 2005, and web sales for the entire year increased by 28 percent. These percentages topped the increases reported by market research firm comScore Networks for the online retail industry overall of 26 percent for the holiday season and 24 percent for the full year. Fourth quarter web sales were helped by improved site search technology which was implemented in November on the artfulhome.com Web site.
The Guild’s exclusive line of artist-made ornaments were the company’s top-selling items for the 2006 holiday season, with ornament sales approximately double those of 2005. Additional top-selling items included the “Winter Lampwork Perfume Bottle,” by Matthew Buechner; “Cat Clocks,” by Emi Ozawa (a perennial customer favorite); and “Secret Heart Earrings,” by Ed Levin. The top-selling furniture item was “Coat Tree,” by David Coddaire.
The Guild’s total retail sales for 2006 were up 50 percent over retail sales in 2005. The Guild also experienced an 87 percent increase in total visitors to its website over 2005. Orders attributable to paid search efforts were up 617 percent over 2005, reflecting another successful 2006 initiative.
The Guild, Inc.® is the leading online retailer of original art and fine craft items shipped direct to customers from the studios of top North American artists. The Guild’s catalogs, The Artful Home®, Artful™ Jewelry, and Artful™ Gifts, present collections carefully selected from the 12,000 items available through The Guild’s artfulhome.com Web site. Since 1985, The Guild has also published annual sourcebooks helping design professionals locate commissionable artists for special projects.
For more information, go to www.artfulhome.com, or contact Julie Kolka, Manager of Public Relations and Partnerships, at (608) 227-4105 or jkolka@guild.com.
