GREENWICH, Conn., April 4, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Blyth, Inc. (NYSE:BTH) today announced the election of Philip Greer to Blyth's Board of Directors.
Mr. Greer is a Managing Director of Weiss, Peck & Greer, LLC, an investment management firm. He founded the firm in 1970 with two partners and served on its Executive Committee until 2001. The firm was sold to the Robeco Group, a subsidiary of Rabo Bank, based in the Netherlands, in 1998.
Mr. Greer has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Federal Express Corporation since 1974 and has served as Chairman of its Audit Committee for more than fifteen years. He has also been a member of the Board of Directors of the Robert Mondavi Corporation since 1992 and serves as Chairman of the Audit Committee there as well. Mr. Greer serves as Vice Chairman of the Board of Administrators of Tulane University and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Santa Catalina School in Monterey, California. He received a B.A. in Psychology from Princeton University in 1957 and his M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School in 1960. Mr. Greer is married with two children and lives in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Commenting on Philip Greer's appointment to the Board of Directors, Robert B. Goergen, Blyth's Chairman of the Board and CEO, said, "Phil's years of investment success across a variety of consumer and industrial products and services companies at different stages of growth will make him an excellent addition to Blyth's Board. In addition, the background he brings in board governance will be an added benefit to shareholders."
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 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(tm) and Carolina(r) brands and in the mass retail channel under the Florasense(r), Ambria(tm) and FilterMate(r) brands. In Europe, its products are also sold under the Gies, Colonial and Wax Lyrical brands. Blyth also markets a broad range of Creative Expressions and Foodservice products, including seasonal and home decor products under the Midwest of Cannon Falls(r) brand, decorative seasonal products under the Impact(tm) brand, paper-related products under the Jeanmarie(r) brand and tabletop illumination products and portable heating fuel for the hotel, restaurant and catering trade, under the Ambria(tm), Sterno(r) and HandyFuel(r) brand names. Net Sales for the twelve months ended January 31, 2002 totaled $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 October 31, 2001 and in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 31, 2001.