Break The Chain

McKay believes catalogs make for a fantastic marketing vehicle. First, the catalogs allow him to build a brand image. "Customers could potentially see the Magnawatch a dozen times," McKay says. "Catalogs build awareness."

Another benefit: Catalog buyers decide whether to buy from a picture and possibly from a prototype. This means that the product may only have to be produced once the orders start coming in. "I like to give buyers several options of the products they can buy," McKay explains. "Once they decide, I can then produce the model they've selected. There's plenty of time to produce the products, as catalogs typically give two to three months of lead time."

Reason No. 3: McKay likes catalogs because he doesn't have to compete with giant watchmakers like Casio. "The big [manufacturers] don't want retailers to handle a product from a small company," McKay says. "Catalogs, on the other hand, [prefer to sell] products [not carried by] the big retailers."

Last but not least, perhaps the most important benefit to selling in catalogs is that they can show a photo of the product actually being used. "I'm not sure people would really [understand] all the benefits of the Magnawatch in a store, where it's not displayed," McKay says. "In a catalog, the product can be shown in use, and the reader immediately picks up the benefits of the product, plus, with a catalog, you're not fighting for shelf space."

This article was originally published in the May 2000 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Break The Chain.