GREENWICH, Conn., Feb. 14, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- Blyth, Inc. (NYSE:BTH), the world's largest manufacturer of candles and home fragrance products, today announced the conclusion of its most successful gift show month on record. The January gift shows, widely viewed as benchmarks for the upcoming year's retail sales potential, were the site for the launch of new product lines, forms, fragrances and show rooms for Candle Corporation of America, a wholly owned subsidiary of Blyth, Inc.
Furthering its commitment to expand resources supporting premium retail brands, which was announced in November, the Company has implemented a new sales approach to the gift industry with enhanced retailer sales programs, new in-store merchandising tools, additional in-house sales managers, and a record number of new products.
The Colonial Candle of Cape Cod(r) brand, which is sold in premium retail outlets nationwide, combines florals and fragrance in seven new botanical domed jar candles, featuring colorful fruit and potpourri in the lids. In its basic wax candle offering, two new fragrances and colors that span from fall through holiday and into spring, Berry Blend and Wildflowers, are additions this season. Further satisfying consumers' gift-giving needs are new sparkle gift sets: clear, solid pillars with silver sparkles suspended throughout to reflect candlelight to the far corners of a room, as well as unique square taper 4-packs in gift boxes. Colonial's distinctive new Whimsical Christmas(tm) candles and accessories are available in a variety of forms in Woodland Santa(tm), Winter Reindeer(tm) and Forest Snowman(tm) fragrances. The crisp winter fragrance of Colonial's Snow Quartz(tm) candles and sparkling silver accessories combine to create a brilliant backdrop for the holidays. The Company also debuted a new organic line of candles in four forms and colors, created from unfragranced palm oil and revealing a lacy, crystal pattern while burning.
The Colonial at HOME(tm) sub-brand, which had a highly successful launch just over one year ago, introduced eight new fragrances in frosted containers designed to bridge the gap between home and spa by offering products equally suited to both environments. Ripe Mango(tm), Powder Fresh(tm), Sun Shower(tm) and Soft Lavender(tm) fragrances are among the vivid colors shining through subdued, frosted glass and appealing to quiet, private moments. Five fragrances are introduced in Colonial at HOME(tm)'s bright new Celebrations(tm) line of solid, transparent candles filled with light-reflecting sparkles. Three new holiday fragrances and new Simmer Snaps(tm), a non-wicked scented wax product with an accompanying Snap Warmer, in 42 fragrances and in Colonial at HOME(tm)'s signature oval shape complete this year's introductions. Simmer Snaps(tm) are especially suited to today's consumers, who are adventurous in choosing fragrances and can create their own favorite combination by blending Snap halves to suit their moods.
Five new and exclusive fragrances were created under the Colonial at HOME(tm) sub-brand for Hallmark Gold Crown retailers and were featured at the Hallmark Plus private gift shows in Atlanta, Dallas, New York, Los Angeles and Secaucus, New Jersey.
Kate's Holiday(tm) by Kate's Original Recipe(tm) is a new line of candles and accessories inspired by twinkling lights, hand-blown ornaments and the fragrances of childhood memories. Winter Ice(tm), Mulled Cider(tm), Juniper Wreath(tm) and Graham Cracker(tm) fragrances are available in tea lights, votives, jars and decorative tumblers designed for a variety of uses. Festive jar toppers and tea light ornament accessories offer additional creative possibilities.
Commenting on the array of new product lines, Robert B. Goergen, Blyth's Chairman of the Board and CEO, said, "Candle Corp's significant accomplishments this year are due to the strong leadership of its management group and their commitment to innovative new product development. The additions to our team of veterans are off to a terrific start, and we believe that these gift industry leaders will position the Company for growth and improved profitability as they continue to build our premium brands."
Supporting the new product introductions, eight new, expanded or refurbished permanent showrooms were unveiled at the major gift shows in Atlanta, Dallas, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Kansas City and Seattle. The showrooms feature the Colonial Candle of Cape Cod(r) brand and its sub-brands and are designed to maximize the display and promotional opportunities for retailers.
In response to the positive showing in January, James Kopp, President of Candle Corporation of America, said, "We are very pleased with the response from retailers following the holiday season. We continue to increase our share of the premium market, which was recently noted in GiftBeat magazine. The Colonial brand showed improvements in regional markets in the most recent quarter and appeared for the first time on GiftBeat's top ten list for reorders. We believe our customer service initiatives, including our new showrooms, are having the desired impact."
Blyth, Inc., headquartered in Greenwich, designs, manufactures and markets an extensive line of candles and home fragrance products including scented candles, potpourri and environmental fragrance products, and markets a broad range of related candle accessories and decorative seasonal products. Its products are sold in the United States direct to the consumer under the PartyLite(r) brand, to retailers in the premium channel, under the Colonial Candle of Cape Cod(r), Kate's Original Recipe(tm) and Carolina Designs(r) brands, in the mass channel under the Ambria(tm), Florasense(r), Jeanmarie(r) and FilterMate(r) brands, and in Europe under the Gies, Liljeholmens and Colony brands. It is also a leading producer of portable heating fuel products sold under the Sterno(r) and Handy Fuel(r) brand names. Net Sales for the twelve months ended October 31, 2000 totaled $1,155,758,000.
Blyth, Inc. can be found on the Internet at www.blythinc.com.
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance and underlying assumptions and other statements that are other than statements of historical facts. Actual results could differ materially due to various factors, including the risk of a continuing weakness of the retail environment, the effects of our restructuring, the risk of maintaining the Company's growth rate, the Company's ability to respond to increased product demand, the risks (including foreign currency fluctuations) associated with international sales and foreign products, the risks of being able to recruit new independent sales consultants, dependence on key management personnel, competition in terms of price and new product introductions, and other factors described in this press release, in the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended October 31, 2000 and in the Company's Annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 31, 2000.