Coldwater Creek Inc., which increased its spending on national magazine advertising by almost 80 percent last year, plans to boost its budget for national promotions in its current fiscal year by nearly a third, to $32 million, in a national branding campaign.


The Sandpoint-based womens fashion retailer also says it will do further testing of television advertising this year after testing a TV ad campaign in limited markets in the second half of its 2006 fiscal year, which ended Feb. 3.


Last week, Coldwater couldnt discuss its goals for its intensified national promotions because it was observing a quiet period before it was to release its first-quarter earnings on Tuesday, May 29.


The companys recent annual report, however, says Coldwater Creek spent $13.6 million on national ads in fiscal 2005, when it made its first push into such advertising, and increased such outlays to $24.2 million in fiscal 2006.


Meanwhile, Coldwater Creek, which started out as a catalog retailer and later emphasized Internet sales before building a national chain of retail stores, also has boosted mailings of one of its catalogs, which exclusively features merchandise available in its 245 premium stores, as opposed to its 26 resort stores.


In 2007, the company expects to mail 29.4 million copies of that catalog, which is named Coldwater Creek, into markets where its premium stores are located, up from 20.5 million copies last year and 11.9 million copies in fiscal 2005.


Mailings of the catalog, one of three the company puts out, have grown as the company has expanded its retail store network.


Through the national advertising campaign, increased catalog mailings, and other steps, the big retailer says it hopes to seize opportunity to increase market share by appealing to potential customers who may be dissatisfied with merchandise selections and customer service offered by department-store chains.


Coldwater Creek plans to open 65 stores this year in its drive to grow to 450 to 500 stores over three to five years, its annual report says.


The company has maintained its Internet sales channel, but says its promotions on the Web tend to drive its customers into its stores, where they can see, feel, and try on the fashions the company offers.


The company, which has launched an intensive effort to obtain its fashions directly from manufacturers rather than through intermediaries, says it expects to obtain 50 percent of its goods from such direct sources by the end of fiscal 2007 and about 70 percent of its fashions that way by the end of fiscal 2008.


We design and develop all of our apparel either in-house or in collaboration with independent designers, Coldwater Creek says.


The company opened a New York design studio about three years ago. It also has offices in India, Guatemala, and Hong Kong that select manufacturers to make its goods, ensure adequate factory capacity for production of them, and negotiate prices for the manufacture and delivery of its apparel.


In addition, its foreign offices provide samples of fabrics, colors, and prints being developed in their regions.


In its annual report, Coldwater Creek says it plans to open three additional day spas in 2007, which would give it nine in all.


It adds, though, that its fledgling day-spa business has had a negative effect on earnings so far.


The company had a cash horde of $148.7 million as of Feb. 3.


Contact Richard Ripley at (509) 344-1261 or via e-mail at [email protected].