ELS Acquires Creativ Communications

Furniture World Magazine

ELS Marketing and Design, a leader in the production and printing of multi-vendor housewares stitch-ins and blow-in cards for department store catalogs, recently acquired CreativCommunications Corporation (CCC), an advertising agency which specializes in packaging design, catalog design and production, sales collateral, and POS materials for consumer products companies. CCC's roster of accounts includes Meyer Corp. (Anolon, Circulon, Farberware, KitchenAid Cook-ware), I A. Henckels Cutlery, Appliance Corp. of America (Welbilt, Betty Crocker, Hitachi Small Appliances), Helen of Troy (Revlon, Vidal Sassoon, Barbie, Personal Care Appliances), and Braun. ELS will maintain its headquarters in North Carolina. The company projects sales of $10.5 million in '99. Klaus Wegner, ELS executive vice president/sales, will oversee operations in Greensboro. CreativCommunications, with projected '99 sales of $4 million, will maintain its offices in Greenwich CT. Mike Zito, founder and previous owner of CCC, will remain president. A separate holding company, ELS Group, has been established for the new organization. Ed Stewart, who started ELS Marketing six years ago, will become CEO of ELS Group. All accounting and back office functions will be handled in Greensboro NC. "Combining the two companies creates incredible synergy," said Stewart. "ELS has found its niche with the housewares buyers and DMMs of the department stores and CCC is well known among housewares manufacturers. We see immediate growth potential with CCC, and expect combined sales of the two companies to surpass the twenty-million-dollar level in two years." ELS shipped over 100 million stitch-ins (pages that are "stitched into" the middle of retail catalogs) and broadsheets for the Fall '98 selling season. ELS also produces newspaper inserts, POS posters, and statement enclosures. The company has doubled its sales volume each year since 1993. Current ELS clients, a cross-section of national department store franchises, include Macy's East and West, Filene's, Rich's, Robinson's-May, Foley's, Stern's, Hecht's, and Burdine's.