Cotswold, U.K.-based multititle mailer First Resources Ltd. announced Aug. 2 that it has acquired novelty home items cataloger Renwood Ltd. for an undisclosed cash price. The Renwoods catalog, which has more than 580,000 buyers, specializes in problem-solving home and personal care products such as reading glasses, pet brushes, and tile grout whiteners.
First Resources, parent firm of garden products cataloger Scotts of Stow, now has more than 10 titles. The company bought upscale kitchenware catalog Cucina Direct in June and purchased gifts marketer Presents Direct in May 2004.
According to First Resources group chairman Nigel Swabey, the company had been looking for a mass-market novelties catalog for several years. “We’ve been considering launching a spin-off catalogue in this sector for some time and the Renwoods catalogue provides us with an ideal opportunity to fill this gap in our portfolio,” Swabey said in a release. The next Renwoods catalog is scheduled to drop in late September to approximately 1 million buyers.