pressrelease042009.htm
UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
8-K
CURRENT
REPORT
Pursuant
to Section 13 or 15(d) of
the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of
Report (Date of earliest event reported) April 20,
2009
BLYTH,
INC.
(Exact
Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
|
Delaware
(State
or Other
Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation)
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1-13026
(Commission
File
Number)
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36-2984916
(IRS
Employer
Identification
No.)
|
One East Weaver Street,
Greenwich, Connecticut 06831
(Address
of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip
Code)
Registrant’s
Telephone Number, including Area Code (203)
661-1926
Not
Applicable
(Former
Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)
Check the
appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to
simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the
following provisions:
¨ Written communications
pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act
¨ Soliciting material
pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act
¨ Pre-commencement
communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act
¨ Pre-commencement
communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act
Item
8.01. Other
Events
Blyth,
Inc. noted that its PartyLite U.S. subsidiary issued a press release on April
20, 2009 (attached as Exhibit 99.1) that provided certain of its U.S. operating
indicators for March 2009. Therein, the following performance metrics were
discussed for which we are providing the following additional
information:
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·
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Average
earnings for PartyLite’s U.S. Consultants increased 28% in March
2009:
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We note
that an increase or decrease in average Consultant earnings does not necessarily
correlate to a directionally similar change in PartyLite’s or our reported sales
or profits.
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·
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More
than 7,000 new Consultants have joined PartyLite U.S. since January
2009:
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The above
7,000 new Consultants reflect new U.S. Consultant applications received
between January 1, 2009 and March 31, 2009 and is approximately flat to the
comparable prior year period.
In our
public filings, we report the net number of active independent sales
Consultants, which reflects (1) new Consultant applications, (2) re-activated
Consultants and (3) inactivated Consultants. Based on this
calculation, PartyLite’s U.S. active independent sales Consultants declined by
approximately 1,600 between January 1, 2009 and March 31, 2009, which compares
to a decline of approximately 6,000 for the comparable prior year
period.
We also
clarify that PartyLite is a direct selling company that offers the opportunity
to start a PartyLite business with no initial out-of-pocket
costs. Monthly sales data is not necessarily indicative of results
for the quarter, and we do not intend to provide data relating to our direct
selling operations beyond that of segment sales, operating profits and ending
Consultant count in our periodic reports to be filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to
be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly
authorized.
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BLYTH,
INC.
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Date:
April 21, 2009
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By:
/s/ Michael S. Novins
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|
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Name:
Michael S. Novins
Title:
Vice President & General Counsel
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