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Midwest, CBK merge

Kids Today Industry News

By Jenny Heinzen York -- Kids Today, 6/1/2009 12:00:00 AM

Midwest of Cannon Falls and CBK have merged to create Midwest-CBK.

Midwest, producer of the Colonial Candle and Seasons of Cannon Falls brand products, and CBK Styles, wholesaler of home and garden decor, gifts and accessories are both owned by Blyth Inc.

According to a press release on the merger, the new company combines the strengths of both companies. The Midwest-CBK merger will be led by Frederic Contino as president, with Terry Stewart as executive vice president of sales, Renee Solczak as vice president of national accounts, and Renee Williams as vice president of independent accounts.

Shelli Lissick, brand communication specialist for the newly combined company, said there will be consolidation in the form of jobs and showrooms, but those details are yet to be ironed out. The showroom changes will occur over the next several months, and will include moving existing CBK showrooms in Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago and Las Vegas into expanded Midwest showrooms in those same markets, as well as expanding other Midwest showrooms around the country to accommodate the growth in the product line.

Contino said the sales forces of the companies had been consolidated to eliminate overlap, but that customers would actually find "more boots on the ground" than ever before. "We have consolidated the sales forces — there is one sales force as of today selling CBK and Midwest products," he said. "We consolidated two into one, and some territories had two reps, so we made the best choice possible, and we treated them with the same respect that we treat all of our employees."

He noted that on the whole, the company views this move as a positive for its wcustomers because of natural synergies in its customer base, product lines, warehousing, sourcing and customer service operations. "Although Midwest and CBK have their own unique and separate histories, we have always shared a common goal of serving the same independent retailers with outstanding, on-trend, competitively priced products, and backing that up with a dedicated sales force and responsive, reliable customer service," Contino said in the press release.

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