Blyth, Inc. Announces PartyLite Worldwide Leadership

GREENWICH, Conn., May 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Blyth, Inc. (NYSE: BTH), a leading designer and marketer of candles, accessories for the home and wellness products sold through the direct selling and direct marketing channels, today announced that its board of directors unanimously approved the appointment of Robert B. Goergen, Jr., who will continue in his capacity as President, PartyLite Worldwide, indefinitely.  Mr. Goergen, Jr. was appointed to his position in January, 2012 and had previously served as President of Blyth's Multi-Channel Group since 2006.  An external search for a permanent successor has been discontinued.

Commenting on his role, Robert B. Goergen, Jr. stated, "I am thrilled to be leading PartyLite at such an exciting point in the company's history.  PartyLite's senior management, global home office teams and I are committed to the products and programs that drive growth, support PartyLite Consultants and Leaders and offer compelling shareholder returns."

Blyth, Inc., headquartered in Greenwich, CT, USA, is a multi-channel company primarily focused on direct selling.  We design and market home fragrance products and decorative accessories, as well as weight management products, nutritional supplements and energy drink mixes.  These products are sold through the home party plan method of direct selling and through network marketing, respectively. The Company also designs and markets household convenience items and personalized gifts through the catalog/internet channel, as well as tabletop lighting and chafing fuel for the 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^®, Two Sisters Gourmet by PartyLite^® and ViSalus Sciences^® brands, to consumers in the catalog/Internet channel under the As We Change^®, Miles Kimball^®, Exposures^®, Walter Drake^® and Easy Comforts^®, and to the Foodservice industry under the Sterno^®, Ambria^® and HandyFuel^® brands.  In Europe, Blyth's products are also sold under the PartyLite 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) and other factors described in this press release and in the Company's most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K.

SOURCE Blyth, Inc.