On Sept. 11, Longmont, CO-based multititle cataloger Concepts Direct sold its most profitable title, stationery mailer Colorful Images, to Colorado Springs, CO-based Current USA.
Though Concepts Direct president Phillip Wiland won’t discuss the terms of the deal, he says that growth among the company’s other catalogs, specifically gifts books Linda Anderson and Music Stand, will make up for some of Colorful Image’s lost revenue. “We received an offer for Colorful Images that was in everyone’s best interests,” Wiland says.
Current USA is owned by North Mankato, MN-based Taylor Corp., which has estimated sales of $1.26 billion. In addition to Current, Taylor owns more than a dozen other titles, including PaperDirect, G. Neil, and Successful Events.
Colorful Images was for a long time one of the flagship titles of Concepts Direct, which Wiland founded in 1992, after selling his database management firm, Wiland Services. Concepts Direct, whose other catalogs include Garfield Stuff, Colorful Characters, and New Bargains, hasn’t had a profitable year since 1997. On December 2002, the company solicited bids from potential buyers. Last April it announced that its board of directors had approved a measure with the Securities & Exchange Commission to delist its common stock.