Ideation has been helping independent retailers grow their business for more than 43 years. We are proud to say that we are the oldest and largest business of its kind in the industry.

The original concept for Ideation was developed in 1964, when three Michigan gift retailers pooled their thoughts and resources to come up with a better way of planning, purchasing for, and promoting their shops. The tool they jointly created to achieve their goals was a gift catalog  mailed directly to customer's homes, and designed to pre-sell and motivate them to visit the store. Once in the store, customers could purchase their gift selections and be exposed to the other gift lines of merchandise carried by the store. The resulting increase in sales, traffic and profitability for their respective stores proved dramatically then, as now, that the concept really works.

Today, the basic concept hasn't changed, although the group and its strength have grown. Well over 500 stores from across the nation currently participate in the Ideation catalog programs. Each year, roughly 95% of them choose to continue their involvement into the next year.

We believe our success hinges on a commitment to provide our members with the highest quality products and service in the industry. Because we are retailers ourselves, we understand your needs and concerns. We constantly strive to maintain your full satisfaction. We can't be successful if our members aren't.