John Lenser
President
John Lenser is President and founder of Lenser, a consulting firm specializing in consumer and business-to-business catalogs and e-commerce. Mr. Lenser's areas of expertise cover a wide range of issues facing catalogers -- from merchandising and strategic planning to circulation planning and fulfillment. Having started a major catalog and retail chain of stores, he has personally completed all aspects of the work involved in producing a successful catalog. While Mr. Lenser has a "hands-on" approach to his consulting practice, he is also frequently called upon to assume major strategic and management roles for his clients. Major assignments have included serving as President of Gump's by Mail and manager of the Sanctuary catalog.
Mr. Lenser's past professional experience includes several executive positions in the fields of direct mail and specialty retailing. In 1978, he founded the San Francisco Music Box Company, expanding from one to over 100 stores in 25 states before its sale to F.W. Woolworth, Inc. in 1991.
Following the sale, Mr. Lenser became President of Hearthsong, Inc. (subsidiary of Foster & Gallagher, Inc.), an educational toy specialty retailer with six stores and a direct mail catalog. Concurrently, he served as President of David Kay, Inc. (another Foster & Gallagher, Inc. subsidiary) a catalog selling decorative gardening products.
Mr. Lenser is frequently featured at direct marketing conferences as a speaker on various aspects of catalog management and regularly writes for Catalog Age magazine. He also serves as a member of the board at both public and private catalog businesses. He is a member of the Direct Marketing Association and Catalog and eCommerce Club Northern California.
Mr. Lenser has Bachelor and Master's degrees from the University of California, Berkeley.
