Enesco Acquires Department 56
Staff -- Gifts and Dec, 5/1/2009 12:00:00 AM
Itasca, IL —
Giftware manufacturer Enesco LLC has acquired Department 56, including its key portfolio of brands, from gift and tabletop company, Lenox Corporation, which recently emerged from bankruptcy after being purchased by Clarion Capital Partners. Enesco's acquisition includes such known brands as Villages, Snowbabies and Possible Dreams, as well as key Department 56 holiday and licensed lines. This acquisition follows upon the recent news of Enesco's pending acquisition of the Charming Tails line from Fitz & Floyd.
In closing this deal, Enesco also hired a substantial portion of Department 56's current employees, including its sales force, and acquired certain inventory and other Department 56 assets.
Is this what they do now? Just buy companies instead of creating and selling their own product lines?
Now when they fail, all of these other great brands will fail as well.
John Adams - 2009-06-08 09:11:00 EDT
Now when they fail, all of these other great brands will fail as well.
I hope Enesco will keep up the innovative and unique decorative lines
that was Dept 56. I'm Not talking lighted house's, even though I collect
Christmas in the City Buildings. I think I speak for a lot of long time
collectors of their products when I say that we just no longer have the
space to collect any more! Don't get me wrong, I still love their
houses, but after you have a 100 or so, where do you go? I LOVED
their unique Halloween ceramic line, their Christmas line, their Easter
line etc... I'm afraid that discontinuing these lines will make quick work
of Dept 56 disappearing all together. Older collectors are maxed out
with buildings and lets face it, getting older and no longer wants to
fool with the set up. And younger collectors may like, but can't afford
a $100.00 house in this economy to view maybe 2 months out of the
year. The decorative ceramic lines that Dept 56 carried were for the
most part affordable to everyone if you were only going to buy 1 or 2
things new for a holiday and packed a lot of bang for the buck.
Snowbabies were cute, but I personally don't want a whole cabinet of
them and I never saw the draw for the other lines that are being kept.
Of course, this is my opinion, but I have been collecting for over 30
years and Dept 56 product have been the mainstay of what I collect
and search out. I hope Enesco will keep the talent that Dept 56 had
and thrive with the same giftware that we love! My main advice is to
bring back Halloween Giftware ceramics and do not skimp! Your silly if
you don't! Thanks for listening - A devoted Dept 56 fan
scott Hayes - 2009-06-07 23:03:00 EDT
that was Dept 56. I'm Not talking lighted house's, even though I collect
Christmas in the City Buildings. I think I speak for a lot of long time
collectors of their products when I say that we just no longer have the
space to collect any more! Don't get me wrong, I still love their
houses, but after you have a 100 or so, where do you go? I LOVED
their unique Halloween ceramic line, their Christmas line, their Easter
line etc... I'm afraid that discontinuing these lines will make quick work
of Dept 56 disappearing all together. Older collectors are maxed out
with buildings and lets face it, getting older and no longer wants to
fool with the set up. And younger collectors may like, but can't afford
a $100.00 house in this economy to view maybe 2 months out of the
year. The decorative ceramic lines that Dept 56 carried were for the
most part affordable to everyone if you were only going to buy 1 or 2
things new for a holiday and packed a lot of bang for the buck.
Snowbabies were cute, but I personally don't want a whole cabinet of
them and I never saw the draw for the other lines that are being kept.
Of course, this is my opinion, but I have been collecting for over 30
years and Dept 56 product have been the mainstay of what I collect
and search out. I hope Enesco will keep the talent that Dept 56 had
and thrive with the same giftware that we love! My main advice is to
bring back Halloween Giftware ceramics and do not skimp! Your silly if
you don't! Thanks for listening - A devoted Dept 56 fan
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