GREENWICH, Conn., Jan. 31, 2001 -- Blyth, Inc. (NYSE:BTH), the world's largest manufacturer of candles and home fragrance products, today announced the debut of Ambria(tm) -- Natural Elements(tm) by Gies, a new selection of fragranced candles designed to appeal to consumers' self-indulgent needs and provide a highly productive merchandising concept to retailers. The "Premiere" Fair international tradeshow in Frankfurt is the site of Blyth's latest foray into the largely undeveloped market for fragranced candles in central and northern Europe.
Following last year's very successful launch of the Ambria(tm) Classic product line, which forged the path for fragranced candles for Blyth's subsidiary Gies Group, this new line extension seeks to develop the rapidly growing scented candle market further. Building on both Blyth's worldwide marketing expertise and local consumer research, the Ambria(tm) -- Natural Elements(tm) brand includes tea lights, votives, filled containers and pillars in a variety of shapes, colors and fragrances under the themes Harmony, Romance, Meditation, Relaxing and Vitality. Ambria(tm) -- Natural Elements(tm) brand products are designed and packaged for retailers to appeal to an underdeveloped consumer demand for pampering and wellness products.
Whereas fragranced candles comprise an estimated 75% of candles sold in the U.S. and 30% of those sold in the U.K., Blyth market research indicates that less than 10% of those sold in continental Europe are fragranced, although this market is growing very rapidly. Commenting on the product launch, Robert B. Goergen, Blyth's Chairman of the Board and CEO, said, "The Gies Group is demonstrating again its ability to transform its tremendous market share and production resources into consumer and market-driven higher margin product areas. The Ambria(tm) brand, which is now sold on five continents, is our first truly global brand of candles and is intended for use in multiple rooms throughout the home. The Ambria(tm) -- Natural Elements(tm) line will enable the Company to appeal to an even greater number of consumers throughout Europe while also greatly improving the economics of our retailers."
Ambria(tm) by Gies is sold today in more than 2,800 stores in Germany, including Metro Group and Rewe, and is being launched in the Nordic region in over 200 Ica stores. The Company has also achieved significant distribution of its fragranced products in the U.K. through its subsidiary Colony Gift Corp under the Colony and Carolina Designs brands. Its products are sold through department and independent gift stores, as well as mass merchants, such as ASDA and Sainsbury's.
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.