Industry & Services >> CEO Interviews >> February 22, 1999
MARK A. COHN is founder of Damark International Inc., Mr. Cohn has
served as Chief Executive Officer since the Company's inception in 1986.
Damark International, Inc., headquartered in Minneapolis, is a direct
marketing company built on ten years of membership-service experience
and proprietary database-management expertise. Its products and services
are offered through mail order catalogs and a variety of membership
clubs that give members discounts on travel, hospitality, entertainment
and merchandise. The company also uses catalogs to sell value-priced
brand-name merchandise in six broad categories: computers, home office
equipment, consumer electronics, home d_cor, home improvement products,
and sports and fitness gear. Damark's targeted membership clubs,
designed to build long-term customer loyalty, have more than one million
members. In 1997, the company recorded its 12th consecutive year of
record revenues, with sales exceeding $500 million. Honors and Awards:
1994 Fortune Magazine, recognized as one of 'America's Smartest Young
Entrepreneurs 40 Who Made Their Mark'; 1993 Fortune Magazine America's
100 Fastest Growing Companies #35; 1991 Inc. 500 America's Fastest
Growing Companies #6; 1191 Inc./YEO/MITSelected for Inaugural Birthing
of Giants Program; 1990 Entrepreneur of the Year sponsored by Ernst &
Young, Inc. Magazine and Merrill Lynch Minnesota Regional
Retail/Wholesale category; 1990 Direct Marketer of the Year Award
Midwest Direct Marketing Association. Associations: Children's Grand
Prix of Minnesota, Inc. - Chairman of the Board of Directors; Children's
Hospitals and Clinics Member, Board of Directors; Streamline Services
Member, Board of Directors; Children's Cancer Research Fund Member,
Board of Directors; Young Presidents' Organization Member since 1994. Profile
products, services, customers, those kinds of things?
Mr. Cohn: The company is now about to celebrate its 13th
