River's End And Page & Tuttle Merge Divisions
Vol. 844
August 23, 2011
Counselor Top 40 supplier River's End Trading Company
(asi/82588) and Page & Tuttle (asi/72725) will merge divisions, effectively
forming one sales team, website, catalog and product
line. The transition will take place over the next four months, with restructuring
of sales staff likely to be completed by October 1. "When we took over the
Page & Tuttle brand, we wanted more feet on the street and to give
everybody an opportunity," says Lori Anderson, marketing manager for
River's End. "It got to be a little confusing for customers."
The decision to merge divisions comes about 18 months after
River's End finalized a deal to acquire supplier PremiumWear
(formerly asi/72725), which had, until that point, provided Page & Tuttle
products to the ad specialty market. Since then, River's End has also
negotiated licensing rights to offer the Jockey label and the Forsyth brand of
golf wear. It was Forsyth that previously owned PremiumWear.
According to Anderson, a small
number of independent rep positions will be eliminated in the transition as
territories and assignments are reconfigured.
As a result of the merger, a new 2012 combined catalog will
be created, offering River's End brands – including Columbia,
PING Apparel, Tommy Hilfiger, Lacoste, as well as the
company's private label – and Page & Tuttle, Jockey and Forsyth apparel in
a 226-page guide. For the first time, the catalog will also contain items from
Brooks Brothers. "With this merger from two separate divisions into one we
will establish a clear, unified message to our customers and provide one place
for all their promotional apparel and decoration needs," says Tim Klouda, president of promotional products at River's End.
Ranked by Counselor as the 12th largest supplier in the
industry, River's End reported 2010 revenues of $93.2 million. For 2011, Anderson
says sales at River's End are tracking upward, with overall gains expected to
be "in the single digits." |