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Northwest's Best stocks up Rogue Valley company that markets hand-crafted products plans to make limited public offering of stock for $1 a share. By Shari Downhill Northwest's Best Ltd. is ramping up its mail-order business with a limited public stock offering. The chance to own a piece of the Northwest's Best Ltd., which markets the creations of Pacific Northwest artists on a global scale, is being made available through a Small Corporate Offering Registration (SCOR). Through SCOR, Northwest's Best Ltd.'s initial offering at $1 per share allows the company to raise $500,000 through the issuance of 500,000 shares of common stock. The minimum investment is $500. State regulators in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Colorado and Utah have approved the offering. No shares will be sold or offered in any other state. "It's basically the baby step of an IPO (initial public offering)," said Jan Lajoie, company president. Under SCOR, a company can raise up to $1 million through the issuance of stock to individuals. SCOR does not limit who can invest, other than placing a restriction on the states where stock can be purchased. The Securities and Exchange Commission enacted SCOR for smaller companies to raise capital by making the process easier and cheaper. The SCOR process uses a shortened prospectus for registering offerings of up to $1 million. The SCOR program requires companies to find their own investors, rather than having an underwriter market the stock like traditional offerings. Like all common stock investments, there is risk inherent in a SCOR offering, meaning an investor's shares could lose their entire value or return little. "This is considered a high-risk (offering)," Lajoie said. "It really is a long-term investment. "We will use the capital generated by this offering to, among other things, reduce debt, expand the catalog circulation, enhance the e-commerce site and better serve both our customers and our regional art vendors." Lajoie, with daughter Jami Lajoie, created the mother-daughter entrepreneurial team to start Northwest's Best in 1994. The company launched its online presence with a Web site in 1995 and has grown exponentially over the past seven years. Since the first catalog was mailed in March 1995, the company has produced nine publications. Starting from an initial pool of more than 100 artisans, Northwest's Best now showcases products produced by more than 2,000 individuals. Off Sage Road on Mason Way in the industrial area of north Medford, the company's small office, call center and warehouse are "manned" primarily by women who stock products and handle customer orders. "Our staff are primarily women who have families and children and go to school," Lajoie said, adding that accommodating employee schedules is a high priority. The Northwest's Best catalog selection is an eclectic compilation of the best artistic expression throughout the region, Lajoie said. With 65 percent of the company's customers east of the Mississippi, Lajoie said the spirit of the Northwest is used in the company's marketing. "We're basically selling the West to the East," she said. "And it's an easy sell. In the realm of mail-order business, we are very small. But, we hold a niche in the marketplace and (offer) hand-crafted products from the Pacific Northwest. "For these artisans who are making small quantities, we're the perfect outlet." As with every new catalog, Lajoie soon will put out the call to artisans for new products. Submissions go through a jurying process with only the best offered in the fall 2001 catalog. "We found, by bringing these artisans together, we could build what we call true sustainable economic development through this process," Lajoie said. By marketing regional products across the country and around the world, artisans have access to a much broader market for their work. With a current circulation of approximately 200,000, the catalog's reach far exceeds the artisan's local market, Lajoie said. For more information regarding the stock offering or to request a prospectus, call Lajoie at 245-3388, or e-mail [email protected] . The company's site is www.nwbest.com on the Web. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.