Content area
Full text
With his shock of white hair and gruff-but-grandfatherly demeanor, Gary Giesler could easily pass for one of the 6 million customers who buy items such as foot cream and bathtub safety grip bars from his multititle catalog company, AmeriMark Holdings.
But Giesler, 71, is no geezer: Not only is he president/CEO of the $432 million mailer, he commutes every other week from AmeriMark's headquarters in Cleveland to Edison, NJ, in his private plane.
What's in Edison? That would be Dr. Leonard's Healthcare Corp., which AmeriMark Holdings (then known as AmeriMark Direct) acquired in December 2007. The cataloger sells home healthcare products for seniors.
Giesler, who started his direct marketing career in 1973 as chief financial officer for Ambassador Leather Goods, had been marketing to seniors long before he became one. He spent 20 years with apparel merchant Arizona Mail Order (which later became Crosstown Traders).
He left that company in 1998 when it was bought by general merchant Fingerhut. The same year, Giesler bought a $35 million multititle catalog company called TransAmerica Holdings. He changed its name to AmeriMark Direct in October 2000.
Where did the name AmeriMark come from? "We were on a plane getting ready to buy TransAmerica Holdings," recalls AmeriMark executive vice president Diane Huzar, who has worked with Giesler for 12 years. "We talked about American Marketing. Then we came up with AmeriMark. It seemed appropriate and more modern. We created a name we felt could draw some customer recognition."
Adds Giesler wryly: "It's not Coca-Cola yet."
Calling on the doctor
It's a sunny but chilly November day at Dr. Leonard's, which is tucked away in an Edison industrial park. Giesler is casually attired in a white turtleneck underneath a maroon zippered pullover.
His one extravagance today: his watch, which he bought in Arizona as a remembrance of his grandparents. "It is Indian turquoise, with the...