Lillian Vernon Strengthens Commitment To Superior Customer Service
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Headquartered in Rye, New York, Lillian Vernon Corporation is a leading national catalog and online retailer that markets gift, houseware, gardening, seasonal and children's products in eight catalog titles. The company introduces more than 2,500 new products a year, purchased directly from hundreds of companies in America and around the world.
Lillian Vernon founded the company in 1951, and she serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. She began her mail order business on her kitchen table in a small Mount Vernon, New York apartment. Lillian offered a unique service—free personalization with her customers' initials—and her business was launched.
The company also operates a seasonal contact center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Lillian Vernon's National Distribution Center is situated on 61 acres in Virginia Beach, Virginia, which is also the site of the main contact center. The warehouse annex, located nearby, serves as another seasonal contact center during peak months. The distribution center, together with the warehouse annex, totals one million square feet—the size of 21 football fields.
In fiscal year 2002, the company shipped more than 5.2 million packages and had revenues of $259.6 million. Like most retailers, September, October, November and December are the peak selling months. The last four months of the year are the company's busiest season, with sales accounting for 70 percent of the company's revenue. At the height of the holiday season, the company receives more than 271,000 orders during its peak week.
To handle this demand while maintaining the highest quality customer service, Lillian Vernon needed advanced technology that was scalable, rich in features, reliable and expandable for the future. A committee representing every major department—from a contact center supervisor to the CIO—comparison-shopped and selected eOn Communications.