GREENWICH, Conn., April 11, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- Blyth, Inc. (NYSE:BTH) today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, PartyLite Gifts, launched its direct selling business in Mexico following a successful testing phase conducted last year. PartyLite's opportunity meeting for independent sales consultants was held in February and was well attended, followed by a very successful Pioneer's Month in March. PartyLite's Mexico City-based local team of nationals supporting the efforts of the independent consultants includes a General Manager, as well as Sales Development, Marketing and Operations Managers.
Commenting on PartyLite's expansion into Latin America, Robert B. Goergen, Blyth's Chairman of the Board and CEO, said, "The positive reaction of Mexican consumers to home fragrance products and the growing popularity of the party plan model of direct selling in Mexico offer an excellent opportunity for PartyLite and potential independent sales consultants. The high quality of our products and the strong programs in place for PartyLite consultants offer new possibilities for consumers to enhance their homes, earn extra income and start their own businesses while having the freedom to determine their schedule according to their own unique needs."
This step into Latin America demonstrates Blyth's ability to leverage its worldwide facilities and core competencies to support new market entries as it utilizes its Monterrey, Mexico facility for initial PartyLite distribution in Mexico, minimizing the Company's initial investment requirements in this market. Further, Blyth's global sourcing and research and development efforts ensure continued availability of quality products and help speed new products to market more quickly.
Frank Mineo, President of PartyLite Worldwide, said, "Candles have long been popular with Mexican consumers for religious reasons, and we see that decorating with fragranced candles and accessories is becoming increasingly popular. Local Mexican communities tend to be close-knit, even in larger cities, lending themselves to the success of the party plan model. Moreover, we believe that PartyLite was the catalyst for consumers' growing desire for fragranced candles and related accessories in the United States, Canada and Europe, and early indicators lead us to believe that Mexican consumers will be equally enthusiastic."
PartyLite, headquartered in Plymouth, Mass., markets candles and related accessories direct to the consumer under the PartyLite(r) brand via a network of over 49,000 independent sales consultants in 10 counties throughout North America and Europe.
Blyth, Inc., headquartered in Greenwich, Conn., USA, designs, manufactures and markets an extensive line of candles and home fragrance products including scented candles, potpourri and other fragrance products 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), Kate's Original Recipe(tm) and Carolina Designs(r) brands and in the mass retail channel under the Ambria(tm), Florasense(r) and FilterMate(r) brands. In Europe, its products are also sold under the Gies, Colony and Wax Lyrical brands. Blyth also markets a broad range of non-fragranced products, including paper-related and decorative seasonal products for the consumer market, under the Jeanmarie(r) and Impact(tm) brand names, and tabletop illumination products and portable heating fuel for the hotel, restaurant and catering trade, under the Sterno(r) and HandyFuel(r) brand names. Net Sales for the twelve months ended January 31, 2001 totaled $1,197,197,000.
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 which 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.