Nancy’s Notions,
a Beaver Dam, WI-based cataloger of sewing supplies and producer of the PBS TV series “Sewing With Nancy,” will be acquired by its top merchandise supplier Tacony Corp. early next year. CATALOG AGE has learned that the $140 million Tacony agreed to buy Nancy’s for an undisclosed amount on July 23; the deal is scheduled to close on Jan. 2, 2003.
“We’ve worked with Tacony for 18 years,” says Nancy Zieman, owner of Nancy’s and host of the TV program. “Discussions came about over the past eight months and it seemed the appropriate thing to do for our long-term relationship.”
Specifically, both companies will achieve myriad synergies: Nancy’s will gain greater merchandise buying power under Tacony, fueling the cataloger’s growth. For Tacony, primarily a business-to-business wholesaler, “Nancy’s knowledge of the sewing consumer will be good in identifying trends in products and services,” says Tacony president/CEO Ken Tacony.
What’s more, Zieman points out, all changes will be seamless to customers. Zieman will continue to run Nancy’s as president under a five-year contract, while continuing to produce and star in “Sewing With Nancy” indefinitely.
Founded in 1979, the $12.5 million Nancy’s Notions catalog business distributes nearly 1 million catalogs annually offering more than 3,000 sewing, quilting, and machine embroidery products.