Turning The Page Catalog maven John Peterman deals with a new chapter . . . Chapter 11.
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John Peterman started J. Peterman Co. and its legendarymail-order catalog in 1987 with a $20,000 unsecured loan. Thecompany had annual sales of $75 million by the time it wentbank-rupt in January 1999, a victim of excessively fast growth. Inbetween, the J. Peterman persona became part of pop culture asactor John O'Hurley portrayed Peterman as Elaine's boss onSeinfeld.
Peterman still has his hands full, working on a book due out inOctober, Never Take No for an Answer (Prentice-Hall), and startingJohnPeterman.com, a multimedia business devoted to shopping theworld. This mail-order icon recently took some time out to discusswhat he did right . . . and wrong.
How did you deal with the stress of going throughbankruptcy?
Really, the key is to get seven or eight hours of sleep a nightand exercise. Everyone talks about how the mind influences thebody, but the state of your body has an even greater impact on yourmind. Sleep deprivation has been used as a form of torture andcreates paranoia. Entrepreneurs tend to drive themselves too hardfor their own good. When you're going through times of greatstress you need to alleviate this by sleeping well and exercising.I learned how to hypnotize myself and could go into a very relaxingand deep sleep. Keep a pad next to the bed so the creative ideasyou get in the middle of the night can be written down.
Why couldn't J. Peterman Co. handle hypergrowth?
You have to make sure all the parts are in sync to grow fast.The culture of our company was the focus on the brand, and our newpeople didn't have time to absorb it. You can't dictate aculture.
Your stores were praised as "fresh." What did youdo to make retailing different?
I didn't go around and look at everyone else's storesand say, "I want to do a little of this and a little ofthat." I started out with the original concept of recreatingthe kind of feeling I had as a 10-year-old boy when I went into mygrandmother's barn-of discovery, excitement and awe. Wefeatured products that fit our six key words: unique, authentic,romantic, journey, wondrous, excellent.
Any rules to success in mail order?
The main thing you need is an interesting and different productaimed at a target audience. Don't expect support from others-ifyour idea is unusual, no one else is going to have a frame ofrefer-ence. You just have to do it.
