GREENWICH, Conn., Aug. 20, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Blyth, Inc. (NYSE:BTH), a leading multi-channel designer and marketer of home fragrance products, home decor products and household convenience items, today announced the election of Anne Busquet to its Board of Directors on August 15, 2007.
Ms. Busquet is currently Principal of AMB Advisors, LLC, an executive strategy and business development advisory firm and investor in start-up companies. Ms. Busquet was Chief Executive Officer of IAC Local and Media Services, a division of InterActiveCorp, from 2004 through 2006. During her tenure, Ms. Busquet led a group of businesses totaling $300 million in revenue, including Citysearch, Evite, Entertainment Publications and TripAdvisor until its spin-off to Expedia in 2005.
Prior to joining IAC, Ms. Busquet spent over 20 years with American Express Company in a variety of roles, including President of Interactive Services and New Businesses and President of Relationship Services, as well as in senior marketing and merchandising roles. Ms. Busquet also serves as an independent board member for Invoke Solutions, as well as on the JEGI Advisory Board. She received her MBA from Columbia University and her BS from Cornell University. Born in France, Ms. Busquet maintains both U.S. and French citizenship. She lives in New York City.
Robert B. Goergen, Blyth's Chairman and CEO, said of Ms. Busquet's election, "Anne's background in international, multi-channel enterprises and wealth of operating experience make her an ideal addition to Blyth's Board of Directors. Our management team, fellow Board members and shareholders stand to benefit from her strategic perspective and industry expertise."
Blyth, Inc., headquartered in Greenwich, CT, USA, is a Home Expressions company that markets an extensive array of home fragrance products, decorative accessories, seasonal decorations and household convenience items. The Company sells its products through multiple channels of distribution, including the home party plan method of direct selling, as well as through the wholesale and catalog/Internet channels. Blyth also markets tabletop lighting and chafing fuel for the Away From Home or foodservice trade. The Company manufactures most of its candles and chafing fuel and sources nearly all of its other products. Its products are sold direct to the consumer under the PartyLite(r) and Two Sisters Gourmet(tm) brands, to retailers in the premium and specialty retail channels under the Colonial Candle(tm), CBK(r) and Seasons of Cannon Falls(r) brands, to retailers in the mass retail channel under the Sterno(r) brand, to consumers in the catalog and Internet channel under the Miles Kimball(r), Exposures(r), Walter Drake(r), The Home Marketplace(r), Easy Comforts(tm) and Boca Java(tm) brands, and to the Foodservice industry under the Sterno(r), Ambria(r) and HandyFuel(r) brands. In Europe, Blyth's products are also sold under the PartyLite(r) brand.
Blyth, Inc. may be found on the Internet at www.blyth.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 slowing of the United States or European economies or retail environments, the risk that we will be unable to maintain our historic growth rate, our ability to respond appropriately to changes in product demand, the risk that we will be unable to integrate the businesses that we acquire into our existing operations, 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 sourced products, risks associated with our ability to recruit new independent sales consultants, our dependence on key corporate management personnel, risks associated with the sourcing of raw materials for our products, competition in terms of price and new product introductions, risks associated with our information technology systems (including, susceptibility to outages due to fire, floods, power loss, telecommunications failures, computer viruses, break-ins and similar events), risks associated with legislation proposed by the Federal Trade Commission and other factors described in this press release and in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 31, 2007.