The New Restoration Hardware Catalog Almost Killed My Postman
Posted by Tom Humbarger on March 21, 2012
The New Restoration Hardware Catalog Weighs 4.6 Pounds
The latest Restoration Hardware catalog arrived by mail today. The 3 catalogs combined in one neat plastic bundle weighed in at 4.6 pounds, so it could have arrived by wheel barrow or burro because I wasn’t around for the delivery.
While the catalog is artfully photographed and arranged, what company in their right mind is still sending out hefty and pricey catalogs in these days of social media-driven eCommerce? (And I would hate to think about the impact on the environment to print and deliver all 4.6 pounds of interior design ideas – talk about carbon footprints.) Not only was the catalog heavy, I didn’t see anything that mentioned any of Restoration’s social media accounts – and it was even hard to find a link to the Restoration Hardware website in the catalog. When I just visited the Restoration Hardware website, I didn’t even see any mention of social media anywhere. I did find a lame Twitter account that has not been updated in more than a year, but I couldn’t find a Facebook Fan Page.
My rhetorical question is “hey Restoration, did you ever hear of Pinterest?”. But then, I already know the answer to that because Restoration Hardware does have a very active Pinterest page. I am sure the US Postal Service appreciated the little blip in their monthly revenues from delivering these heavy tomes, but wouldn’t it have been easier to just send a postcard with a link pointing me to the Restoration Hardware Pinterest page? And if I were Restoration Hardware, I would then promote the heck out of the Pinterest page because it is much more social than a doorstop of a catalog that is probably heading directly to the recycling trashcan at most households.
Restoration Hardware on Pinterest
So, thank you Restoration Hardware for the catalog and inspiration to write a new blog post. My unanswered question is “does Restoration Hardware have a social media strategy?” Based on the latest catalog and how hard it was to find any social media activity, I think there is a huge disconnect between their print and digital strategies – and I would be curious to get an answer.
maggielmcg said
LOL–I thought the exact same thing when I had to drag that plastic-wrapped, heavy package of catalogs in from my mailbox! I did notice that the store at the mall near me recently closed–guess they had to save all their money for postage and printing costs. It would be one thing if I were a frequent customer or something, but I’ve never bought a thing there–why would they send me a huge bundle of heavy catalogs?
Kim said
I fully agree – no one needs catalogs these days, especially the audience they are trying to reach. (Very large people in ultra large, monochromatic homes) And the environmental impact of these makes me want to cry. I wish they would stop sending these waste of paper/carbon footprint disasters.
Here is the link to cancel their catalog delivery: http://www.restorationhardware.com/customer-service/catalog-cancellation.jsp
If enough people cancel, maybe they will get the hint!
Tom Humbarger said
Thanks for your comment Kim and link for canceling the Restoration Hardware catalog.
eyedzervit said
Thank you Kim for that link to cancel. I too was shocked today when I received a 650+ page catalog . Not just ONE catalog but 2 additional smaller ones on top of it! What has RH done to itself???? I used to enjoy perusing their smaller novelty items in their stores. They also had very nice linens and pillows on display. Now it’s intimidating to even walk into the place unless you’re furnishing an entire castle and need this hideous, oversized, gaudy and grey junk. The ENTIRE catalog is grey. Even some items that do have some color in them in real life have been muted down to grey for the catalog. Who is buying this overpriced garbage? And then you open up the catalog and the first thing you see is again another 2 page spread of Gary Friedman, Chairman and CEO. I’d say he’s a little full of himself and considers himself to be somewhat of a prophet. He’s even attempting to compare himself to Steve Jobs !!!!!!!!
James said
I am so tired of getting their catalog. No only is it a waste of my time to read it (i would never buy anything from Restoration Hardware) it’s killing the environment. A lot of chemicals are used to make paper and a lot of toxic ink on each page. Shame on RH.
Shannon said
Ack! I had no idea this was happening until my friend posted a photo on Facebook of her 4 pound catalog. Do you think we can get them to scale it down?
https://www.change.org/petitions/restoration-hardware-eliminate-production-of-big-catalogs