Mapmaker Rand McNally Turns 150

Robert Apatoff, President and CEO of Rand McNally & Co., talks during an interview in his office Friday, Sept. 29, 2006, in Skokie, Ill. The storied mapmaker, marking its 150th anniversary this year, has improved its sales and profitability after years of difficulty and slow start in the internet era. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green) (M. Spencer Green - AP)

Rand McNally's business model is paying off in annual sales growth of 4 percent to 5 percent, he said. Its online division also is growing in double digits, with an advertising blitz planned soon for its Web site and online store.

The company now goes beyond the basic atlas to show consumers not just how to get to a destination but what to do along the way, Apatoff said, including recommended sightseeing routes, restaurants and lodgings.

One such new product is the Family Adventure Guide & Interstate Atlas, co-developed with Walt Disney Co.'s Disney Parks and Resorts.

It also makes customized atlases for companies, just launched a motorcycle ride atlas with Harley Davidson Inc. and has introduced several new items for its education division, with map activity books, flash cards and other products now in 94 percent of U.S. schools.

The products not only provide more value for consumers but cost more, helping the company's profitability, Apatoff noted. The same holds for its new electronic products, which also are key to his vision of a "much bigger" and more innovative Rand McNally.

"We believe we have the name that works in electronic (media), we know we have the name that works as the trusted name in the store," he said. "We sure like our chances to compete for another 150 years."

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On the Net:

http://www.randmcnally.com