ACOT Message Board

I've heard....anyone else?  Have they really sold the business?

So many changes coming.  Should be an interesting year.

I wonder what this will mean for our hobby! 

I haven’t seen anything about this !  I don’t see any news release about it. 

i was watching a vicki b live awhile back and she was talking about how AC had changed her foundations paper without telling her.  at one point she said "the new owners" so i guess the answer is yes or perhaps it already happened.

stinkerbelle wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 12, 2025 10:40 am

i was watching a vicki b live awhile back and she was talking about how AC had changed her foundations paper without telling her.  at one point she said "the new owners" so i guess the answer is yes or perhaps it already happened.

I heard it was a foreign acquisition.
 

American Crafts is owned by a big investment company H.I.G. Capital. I can't find anything that there's new owners but there was some restructuring. There's an affiliate investment company called Whitehorse Finance.

 (20)In March 2023, as a result of a restructuring agreement between the Company and American Crafts, LC, the Company's investments are controlled affiliate investments, as defined by the 1940 Act.

The company [Whitehorse] is working to improve the performance of underperforming assets, including American Crafts and Honors Holdings, and is exploring strategic sales to maximize value. [This info is from a Nov 2024 article.]

There was something about losing a major customer but I don't know who it was.

I, like Stacy, was watching Vicki B and she was commenting it was under new owners. She wasn’t happy with them cutting a bunch of her stuff. So, she went seeking options. She is probably the one they have lost. Also, she wasn’t happy with them not naming her papers any more. Going on a cruise with her in the very near future so I may learn more.

MTCanuk wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 12, 2025 11:33 am

I, like Stacy, was watching Vicki B and she was commenting it was under new owners. She wasn’t happy with them cutting a bunch of her stuff. So, she went seeking options. She is probably the one they have lost. Also, she wasn’t happy with them not naming her papers any more. Going on a cruise with her in the very near future so I may learn more.

 When I think major customer, I think really big. Like how big is she?
 

TamIAm wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 12, 2025 11:28 am

American Crafts is owned by a big investment company H.I.G. Capital. I can't find anything that there's new owners but there was some restructuring. There's an affiliate investment company called Whitehorse Finance.

 (20)In March 2023, as a result of a restructuring agreement between the Company and American Crafts, LC, the Company's investments are controlled affiliate investments, as defined by the 1940 Act.

The company [Whitehorse] is working to improve the performance of underperforming assets, including American Crafts and Honors Holdings, and is exploring strategic sales to maximize value. [This info is from a Nov 2024 article.]

There was something about losing a major customer but I don't know who it was.

Thanks for the info, Tam.  Where did you find this? So maybe AC is the customer.
 

VickiR wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 12, 2025 11:36 am

TamIAm wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 12, 2025 11:28 am

American Crafts is owned by a big investment company H.I.G. Capital. I can't find anything that there's new owners but there was some restructuring. There's an affiliate investment company called Whitehorse Finance.

 (20)In March 2023, as a result of a restructuring agreement between the Company and American Crafts, LC, the Company's investments are controlled affiliate investments, as defined by the 1940 Act.

The company [Whitehorse] is working to improve the performance of underperforming assets, including American Crafts and Honors Holdings, and is exploring strategic sales to maximize value. [This info is from a Nov 2024 article.]

There was something about losing a major customer but I don't know who it was.

Thanks for the info, Tam.  Where did you find this? So maybe AC is the customer.
  

No, AC lost a major customer is my understanding of things going more south financially.
I googled different things all over the place. Don't understand a bunch of it. LOL  Googled to find out who owns/was it sold. Definitely no info on it being recently sold. However, in my latest little search I thought maybe it's just a new CEO. Someone on Glassdoor claimed there's new ownership but like I said, I don't see it being sold recently. (and I can't read much on glassdoor, just whatever google let me because you have to sign in.) There is a new CEO.
Danny De Freitas is the CEO of American Craft as of April 2024
 

I'm thinking 'major customer' would be someone who buys their products. Like maybe a big craft store.

Q: What led to the decision to explore a sale of American Crafts rather than a turnaround? A: Stuart Aronson, CEO: The loss of a major customer significantly reduced the revenue base, making a standalone recovery unlikely without further capital injection, which we don't see as a viable investment. We are exploring a sale to strategic players instead. [this was from November 2024]

I can't find that it has ACTUALLY been sold but it's privately owned so.... ???

TamIAm wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 12, 2025 12:02 pm

Q: What led to the decision to explore a sale of American Crafts rather than a turnaround? A: Stuart Aronson, CEO: The loss of a major customer significantly reduced the revenue base, making a standalone recovery unlikely without further capital injection, which we don't see as a viable investment. We are exploring a sale to strategic players instead. [this was from November 2024]

I can't find that it has ACTUALLY been sold but it's privately owned so.... ???

Interesting!

Aaaaand.... another bit saying the same thing from an earnings call....

During the quarter, we took a $6.6 million write-down on American Crafts and are currently seeking to either restructure or sell the company. The company's previously challenged performance was further impacted by the loss of a material customer in the quarter. We continue to execute improvement initiatives, and we believe we have the asset marked consistent with where it might be sold to a strategic player. (Earnings call: WhiteHorse Finance Q3 results reflect market challenges - Nov. 2024)
 

TamIAm wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 12, 2025 11:42 am

VickiR wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 12, 2025 11:36 am

TamIAm wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 12, 2025 11:28 am

American Crafts is owned by a big investment company H.I.G. Capital. I can't find anything that there's new owners but there was some restructuring. There's an affiliate investment company called Whitehorse Finance.

 (20)In March 2023, as a result of a restructuring agreement between the Company and American Crafts, LC, the Company's investments are controlled affiliate investments, as defined by the 1940 Act.

The company [Whitehorse] is working to improve the performance of underperforming assets, including American Crafts and Honors Holdings, and is exploring strategic sales to maximize value. [This info is from a Nov 2024 article.]

There was something about losing a major customer but I don't know who it was.

Thanks for the info, Tam.  Where did you find this? So maybe AC is the customer. 

No, AC lost a major customer is my understanding of things going more south financially.
I googled different things all over the place. Don't understand a bunch of it. LOL  Googled to find out who owns/was it sold. Definitely no info on it being recently sold. However, in my latest little search I thought maybe it's just a new CEO. Someone on Glassdoor claimed there's new ownership but like I said, I don't see it being sold recently. (and I can't read much on glassdoor, just whatever google let me because you have to sign in.) There is a new CEO.
Danny De Freitas is the CEO of American Craft as of April 2024
  

I did the same but really didn’t see anything about it being sold off or a merger. 

This is one of the reasons why I hate when a big company comes in and buys other great small businesses.  American Crafts bought BoBunny, Pebbles Inc, E K Sucess, Bazzill and Core’dinarion and many others I can’t remember. Then years later when something happens to large company, it eventually trickles down to the consumer. 

This is from Google:American Crafts is a crafts company that partners with many major retailers, including: Walmart, Target, Michaels, and JoAnn Fabrics.

JoAnn is definitely trying to stay in business and they perhaps find that AC products are not helping their bottom line. Does Michaels appear to carry the scrapping supplies from AC?. Not sure about other craft stores like Hobby Lobby.

cbee wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 12, 2025 2:21 pm

This is from Google:American Crafts is a crafts company that partners with many major retailers, including: Walmart, Target, Michaels, and JoAnn Fabrics.

JoAnn is definitely trying to stay in business and they perhaps find that AC products are not helping their bottom line. Does Michaels appear to carry the scrapping supplies from AC?. Not sure about other craft stores like Hobby Lobby.

I know Hobby Lobby does not carry American Crafts. Michaels used to but they switched everything over to their own line, Recollections. JoAnn Fabrics does so maybe they lost them as a customer, I think that would be a big loss. 

cbee wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 12, 2025 2:21 pm

This is from Google:American Crafts is a crafts company that partners with many major retailers, including: Walmart, Target, Michaels, and JoAnn Fabrics.

JoAnn is definitely trying to stay in business and they perhaps find that AC products are not helping their bottom line. Does Michaels appear to carry the scrapping supplies from AC?. Not sure about other craft stores like Hobby Lobby.

Yes, they are sold in other retail stores. Keep in mind they also manufacture 'house' brands like JoAnn's Park Lane brand.
 

This is very disturbing. I had read that they were cutting back on specific collections. For instance, 2024 only VB had a Christmas collection and only Paige Evans had a Halloween collection. I may be wrong, but I think that was what a read in a thread on FB.