What is a Uniforms Catalog?

A catalog is published by a supplier or manufacturer of a particular product or products and contains a comprehensive list of all the items available to customers. These companies are sometimes called “cataloguers”. Suppliers of uniforms may publish a uniforms catalog to make the process of purchasing garments for the workplace easier. The catalog is published in the same way as any magazine or glossy publication and reaches potential customers either through the mail or through access over the Internet.

The modern uniforms catalog has come a long way from the first ever catalog, published in 1872, which was merely a single sheet of paper which displayed a list of prices for certain items and provided basic instructions for ordering products from the company. Mail order catalogs were particularly popular in the 1980s, when the activity of mail-order sellers rose more than 300 percent. Today, there are companies selling uniform garments for every profession in every industry, and the catalog enables customers to browse the complete range of garments available before they decide to buy.

The advantage for companies supplying uniforms to different industries by mail order, whether it is done over the Internet or by direct mail, is that they greatly reduce two of the expenses that affect traditional companies. They do not have to buy substantial amounts of rent, and they do not have to employ a sizeable workforce. Another advantage is that, regardless of the size of the uniform supplier, they can use a mail-order uniforms catalog to increase their market presence without having to pay a lot of money for it.

More and more mail order suppliers have been moving online in recent years. A survey in 1999 found that almost all of catalog retailers who had joined the Direct Marketing Association Online had some kind of online presence. 60 percent of these retailers sold products using the Internet. Catalogs look a great deal like the physical catalogs that arrive in the mail. Websites often employ IT professionals to programme the website so that to the catalog imitates a print catalog. Customers are shown an animation of a catalog, with pages that can be turned by pressing the arrows at the edge of the screen. The pages of the uniforms catalog will contain pictures of the items with descriptions and information about style and color options. The advantage of this way of accessing a list of products is that the customer does not have to wait for the catalog to come in the mail; it can be accessed instantly online.

Businesses using a uniforms catalog to sell their products or to increase their presence on the market continue to thrive, despite the arrival of the Internet. This is because it is no faster to order clothes over the Internet than over the telephone, because the products must still be delivered in the mail. Mail-order also gives a more personal customer experience, particularly if the order is placed over the telephone, by speaking to a company sale representative.