After 54 years, the final Fingerhut catalog will hit mailboxes next week. Layoffs of the more than 6,000 employees will begin in earnest by the end of February and be completed this summer.
“We’re working through the details of when the last order is going to be taken, when the last shipment is going to take place and we’ll just wind down when the volumes and work no longer exist,” Jeff Sherman, chairman of Federated, said yesterday.
Customers will have six to eight weeks to place a final order.
Federated has said that a buyer for Fingerhut is unlikely in this economic climate and plans to sell the assets which include the customer file of 4.1 million active buyers and its Arizona Mail Order business, Sherman said.
“This is a very troubled economy,” Sherman said. ” This is not the economic time or the sector that a lot of people are looking to put big investments in at the moment.” Fingerhut offered credit and merchandise to the sub prime market.
DMA president H. Robert Wientzen weighed in on the shutdown.
“Over the years, Fingerhut has played a unique and significant role in the growth of the catalog industry and direct marketing,” Wientzen said. ” By providing credit to individuals who would not otherwise have had access to distance shopping, they have brought new customers to the catalog and online marketplace.”
He added, “As the company announced, it will seek buyers for these catalogs. I am hopeful they will continue to be viable businesses well into the future.”
Federated bought Fingerhut in February 1999 for $1.7 billion.
Network
