Merrill

This stable market niche held strong in 2002 amid tough competition and price wars. Here's a telling story of two men in a camp who are approached by a man-eating bear. One of the men starts to lace up his sneakers and the other man asks him, "Do you really think those sneakers are going to help you outrun the bear?" And the man answers, "I don't need to outrun the bear, I just need to outrun you." Greg Muzzillo, founder and CEO of Proforma, Cleveland, recounted that story when explaining his company's belief that competition is a much greater concern for them than

Industry experts find direct mail remains robust, despite postal issues and e-mail campaigns. While not representing a major segment of distributor sales, direct mail is gaining clout as a product with significant growth potential. This is true despite postal-hike woes, and economic adversity. Even an onslaught of e-mail direct mail campaigns hasn't stunted interest in the product. As stated by Greg Muzzillo, founder and CEO of Proforma, Cleveland, its the junk e-mail that drives him to welcome direct mail with open arms. "On a very micro level, I get a lot of junk e-mail, and I don't pay any attention to it," said Muzzillo.