SkyMall is a specialty

publishing Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

firm headquartered in

Ridgefield Park, New Jersey Ridgefield Park is a village in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the village's population was 12,729,direct marketer offering products through direct marketers and manufacturers through its SkyMall catalogue and website, skymall.com. In January 2015, the company filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whet ...

. In April 2015, it was purchased in bankruptcy court by C&A Marketing.

History

SkyMall, Inc. was founded in 1990 by Bob Worsley, Alan Lobock, Matthew Del Bianco, and Graham Alcock. Originally, it intended to "get customers to order within 20 minutes of landing and have the goods waiting for them on arrival", before it switched to home delivery. Same-day delivery required SkyMall to operate its own warehouses near select airports. Shortly after launching, the company purchased contracts from another company that allowed it to offer catalog merchandise to travelers flying U.S.

air carrier An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in which ...

s. This move, which did not receive the support of all of the founders, required a significant shift in SkyMall's focus and operations, ultimately forcing the company to abandon same-day delivery and nearly bankrupting it. The company now offers goods from other companies' catalogs for drop-ship to the customer via third-party transport firms. The company drastically changed its business model around 1993. Instead of stocking the merchandise itself near airports, Skymall began leasing sections of the magazines to various distributors which customers would then order from directly.

Smithsonian magazine ''Smithsonian'' is the official journal published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The first issue was published in 1970. History The history of ''Smithsonian'' began when Edward K. Thompson, the retired editor of ''Life'' mag ...

has credited this decision with saving the company. Since 1999, SkyMall ownership has "bounced around among several private-equity companies", including by Najafi Companies, the largest

private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a t ...

firm in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

in 2012. In 2009 SkyMall's website "generated approximately $80.5 million in revenue", making it the 185th largest

e-commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain manag ...

website by revenue. On May 17, 2013, SkyMall merged with Xhibit Corp, described as a new "marketing software and digital advertising company that trades on an 'over-the-counter' exchange where equity shares of small companies can be bought and sold". In less than two years, SkyMall, LLC and several affiliated companies, including its

parent company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

Xhibit Corp., voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the

United States Bankruptcy Court United States bankruptcy courts are courts created under Article I of the United States Constitution. The current system of bankruptcy courts was created by the United States Congress in 1978, effective April 1, 1984. United States bankruptcy c ...

for the District of Arizona on January 22, 2015. On April 1, 2015, SkyMall was purchased out of bankruptcy court by C&A Marketing for $1.9 million; the new owners plan to re-launch the catalog with a new product selection that will partially downplay the brand's association with novelty items in favor of "more of the innovative, fun, cool products that people are looking for, but that are still in keeping with the DNA of SkyMall."

Products

Although Skymall started as a conventional retailer, it was quickly realized that consumers weren't likely to buy them as they were to buy "unconventional items". One of the top-selling items upon the company filing for bankruptcy, for instance, was a

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The ''Washington Post'' described the catalog's offerings as "whimsical".

Departments

* Apparel & Accessories * Automotive & Hardware * Computers * Electronics * Health & Wellness * Home Living * Office * Outdoor Living * Pets * Seasonal * Sporting Goods * Toys, Hobbies & Collectibles * Travel

Participating stores

Casio is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturing corporation headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Its products include calculators, mobile phones, digital cameras, electronic musical instruments, and analogue and digital watches. ...

Design Toscano Design Toscano, Inc. is a US-based multinational mail order catalog and electronic commerce company founded by Michael Stopka in 1989. It is currently headquartered in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. It manufactures and sells statuary, historical ...

* Diversions Catalog * Driving Comfort by AutoSport * Footsmart *

Gadget Universe A gadget is a mechanical device or any ingenious article. Gadgets are sometimes referred to as ''gizmos''. History The etymology of the word is disputed. The word first appears as reference to an 18th-century tool in glassmaking that was develop ...

Hammacher Schlemmer Hammacher Schlemmer is an American retailer and catalog company based in Niles, Illinois. History Hammacher Schlemmer began as a hardware store specializing in hard-to-find tools in the Bowery district of New York City in 1848. Owned by prop ...

* Improvementscatalog.com *

Plow and Hearth Plow & Hearth is a United States retailer based in Madison, Virginia, specializing in hearth and fireplace accessories, furniture and home furnishings, and lawn and garden accessories. The company was established in 1980. Its headquarters is o ...

* Steiner Sports *

Successories Successories is a producer and retailer of motivational office art, mostly featuring photographs paired with sentiments about motivation, teamwork, and perseverance. The word "Successories" is itself a registered trademark. History Successorie ...

TigerDirect TigerDirect is an El Segundo, California-based online retailer dealing in electronics, computers, and computer components that caters to business and corporate customers. Previously owned by Systemax, which is known for its acquisitions of the in ...

* The Greatest Gift

Airlines with SkyMall on flights

Recent

American Airlines American Airlines is a major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the largest airline in the world when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and revenue passeng ...

and American Eagle - ended January 2015{{Cite web , url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/airlines-pull-skymall-planes-766342 , title = Airlines Pull SkyMall from Planes, website =

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

- ended January 2015 *

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along ...

- ended November 2014 *

Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines Co., typically referred to as Southwest, is one of the major airlines of the United States and the world's largest low-cost carrier. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has scheduled service to 121 destinations in the U ...

- ended April 2015

Historical

* American Airlines/US Airways/American Eagle/TWA/America West Airlines * United Airlines/Continental Airlines/Eastern Airlines * Delta Air Lines/Northwest Airlines * Southwest Airlines/AirTran Airways * Alaska Airlines * National Airlines * SkyWest Airlines/Atlantic Southeast Airlines * Frontier Airlines/Midwest Airlines * Sun Country

References

External links

SkyMall website

"'Where the Wings Have No Shame': What's SkyMall culture really about?"
'' Slate.com'', April 18, 2007
"SkyMall and GuestLogix to develop onboard shopping service"
'' DFNIonline'', February 21, 2008
"Coffee, Tea, Lawn Ghoul?"
by Sarah Kershaw, April 29, 2009, ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' Retail companies of the United States Retail companies established in 1990 Inflight magazines Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2015