Lillian Vernon who launched her eponymous mail order business empire in the USA in 1951 passed away in December aged 88. Ms Vernon had fled to the USA from Nazi Germany in 1937. Her business, which inspired hundreds of other niche catalogue start-ups, was the first headed by a woman to be listed on the American Stock Exchange and at its height it operated nine catalogue brands, 15 outlet stores, two websites and a wholesale division with combined annual sales reaching US $300 million. Vernon’s business focused primarily on gift items which could be personalised, which she and her team sourced globally, and was the first to create seasonal catalogues for Easter and Halloween. In 2003 the business was sold to Ripplewood Holdings with Lillian remaining as honorary chair until 2006 when it was sold to Sun Capital Partners. The business has been owned by Current USA, a division of the Taylor Corporation since 2008.
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