WILTON BRANDS EXPANDS PORTFOLIO WITH ACQUISITION OF SIMPLICITY CREATIVE GROUP

WILTON BRANDS EXPANDS PORTFOLIO WITH ACQUISITION OF
SIMPLICITY CREATIVE GROUP
Company Expands Presence in Growing Sewing and Needle Crafts Category
Woodridge, Illinois, January 2, 2013 – Wilton Brands, one of the leading suppliers of crafts products in the United
States, is expanding its impressive portfolio of brands with the acquisition of Simplicity Creative Group based in New
York City and Antioch, Tennessee. Simplicity Creative Group is one of the leading suppliers in the craft, sewing,
knitting, hobby and home decorating categories with a long history of supplying innovative and quality products to a
global customer base. Wilton Brands’ Jerry W. Levin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, comments, “Simplicity
Creative Group is a great fit for Wilton Brands. The acquisition extends and complements our product portfolio and
further positions Wilton Brands as one of the top sources for consumers looking for diverse, best-in-class crafting
products.”
Simplicity Creative Group’s well-known brands including Simplicity®, Wright®, and Boye® will join Wilton’s portfolio of
brands that include Wilton®, Copco®, Jolee’s Boutique®, K&Company®, Inkadinkado®, Dimensions®, K&Company
SMASH®, Sticko®, Perler®, Martha Stewart Crafts™ and American Girl Crafts®. “The acquisition adds leading brands in
the growing sewing category to our diverse portfolio,” said Bruce MacDougall, President and Chief Operating Officer of
Wilton Brands. Abbie Small, who had held the position of Senior Vice President Marketing and Sales with Simplicity
Creative Group, will join Wilton Brands as Senior Vice President of Simplicity Creative Group reporting to Bruce
MacDougall.
In addition to positioning the company for continued long term profitable growth in the US, the acquisition will
accelerate Wilton Brands’ growth in international markets including Europe and Australia where Simplicity Creative
Group’s products are already sold. Approximately 500 employees from Simplicity Creative Group in the US, UK, China,
India, and Australia will join Wilton Brands through the acquisition. “The additional scale that the acquisition provides
will allow us to more quickly expand our international presence,” continues MacDougall.
“The Simplicity Creative Group fits well with Wilton Brands’ portfolio of well-recognized brands and will further
support the company’s mission to providing innovative, high-quality products to consumers,” said Phil Handy,
departing co-CEO of Simplicity Creative Group. “The acquisition is a great opportunity for Simplicity Creative Group to
join one of the leading suppliers in the industry and we look forward to optimizing the benefits of becoming part of
Wilton Brands.”
For more information about Wilton Brands visit www.wilton.com
For more information about Simplicity Creative Group visit www.simplicity.com
ABOUT WILTON BRANDS LLC
Wilton Brands LLC (“Wilton”) helps families create, decorate, and celebrate, by making the memorable and the
beautiful, fun and easy. For nearly 85 years Wilton Brands has been providing world class inspiration, unique and
effective instruction and education, and the innovative products that insure the consumer's success. Wilton has the
number one position in cake decorating, bakeware, and scrapbooking products. It offers the industry’s most
comprehensive and innovative selection of sweet treat making under the Wilton® brand and tea kettles and thermal
mugs under the Copco ® brand. In addition, the company is the leader in paper crafting products as well as a supplier
of some of the craft industry’s most respected brands of jewelry making, needlecrafts and kids’ crafts under the
Jolee’s Boutique®, K&Company®, Inkadinkado®, Dimensions®, K&Company SMASH®, Sticko®, Perler®, Martha Stewart
Crafts™, and American Girl Crafts® brands. More information can be found at www.wilton.com.
ABOUT SIMPLICITY CREATIVE GROUP
Simplicity Creative Group is dedicated to encouraging and supporting your creativity with high quality, fun to use
products, projects and services. Our family of well known craft, sewing, knitting, hobby and home decorating brands
includes: Simplicity® Pattern Company, Wrights®, Conso®, Boye® Needle, E-Z Quilting®, and British Trimmings.
Our mission is to be one of the world's leading creators of products that facilitate individual expression and promote
personalized creativity. Utilizing our portfolio of brands, and leveraging knowledge and experience gained over the
past century, we seek to develop innovative and reliable products of the highest quality. More information can be
found at www.simplicity.com.
-ENDS-
Media Contact:
Cori Rice
Hill+Knowlton Strategies
[email protected]
+1 (305) 443 5454