GREENWICH, Conn., Aug. 13, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Blyth, Inc. (NYSE:BTH), a leader in the candles, home fragrance and giftware industry, today announced the appointment of Robert B. Goergen, Jr. as Vice President, Business Development & Internet Strategy, overseeing the Company's acquisitions and corporate development. Mr. Goergen is the eldest son of Robert B. Goergen, Sr., Blyth's Chairman of the Board and CEO, and has served as Director, Internet Strategy & E-Business Initiatives for the past two years. He is also Chairman of Blyth's Worldwide Technology Group and retains that role in his newly-expanded position. Mr. Goergen received his B.A. from the University of Richmond and his M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Robert B. Goergen, Sr. said of the appointment, "Centralizing Blyth's business development, acquisition activities and technology initiatives recognizes the significant link among them and the importance of each to achieve Blyth's long-term growth objectives. The continued sales and earnings growth of our existing businesses will be accomplished in part through efficiencies gained from enhanced technological services, as well as improved customer service initiatives. Moreover, evaluating the growth opportunities of potential acquisition candidates is a critical part of our due diligence and is dependent in part upon intimate knowledge of Blyth's technical capabilities."
Blyth, Inc., headquartered in Greenwich, CT, USA, designs, manufactures and markets an extensive line of candles and home fragrance products including scented candles, potpourri and other fragranced products, as well as tabletop illumination products and portable heating fuel, and markets a broad range of related candle accessories. Its products are sold direct to the consumer under the PartyLite(r) brand, to retailers in the mid-tier and premium retail channels under the Colonial Candle of Cape Cod(r), Colonial at HOME(r), Kate's(tm) and Carolina(r) brands, in the mass retail channel under the Florasense(r), Ambria(r) and FilterMate(r) brands and to the Foodservice industry under the Ambria(r), Sterno(r) and HandyFuel(r) brand names. In Europe, its products are also sold under the Gies, Ambria, Carolina, Colonial and Wax Lyrical brands. Blyth also markets a broad range of Creative Expressions products, including home decor and giftware products under the CBK(tm) brand, seasonal products under the Midwest of Cannon Falls(r) and JMC Impact(tm) brands, and paper-related products under the Jeanmarie(r) brand. Net Sales for the twelve months ended April 30, 2002 totaled approximately $1,199 million.
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 which are other than statements of historical facts. Actual results could differ materially due to various factors, including the current slowing of the United States economy as a whole and the continuing weakness of the retail environment, the effects of our restructuring, the risk that we will be unable to maintain the Company's historic growth rate, the Company's ability to respond appropriately to changes in product demand, the risks (including foreign currency fluctuations, economic and political instability, transportation delays, difficulty in maintaining quality control, trade and foreign tax laws and others) associated with international sales and foreign products, risks associated with our ability to recruit new independent sales consultants, our dependence on key management personnel, risks associated with the sourcing of raw materials for our products, 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 April 30, 2002 and in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 31, 2002.