Concepts Direct to close down; 350 to lose jobs by end of year

LONGMONT — Concepts Direct Inc., a direct marketing company with product lines including gifts and apparel, is closing its doors by year-end.
x09About 350 employees will be displaced, said founder, Chairman and President Phillip Wiland.
Wiland would not discuss the reasons for the company closure saying only, “We thought it was the best decision for all concerned.”
The company sold its largest brand, Colorful Images, to Current USA Inc. in September. Financial terms of that sale were not disclosed. Current, headquartered in Colorado Springs, is a direct marketer of stationary, gift wrap, cards and gifts.
After the sale, Concepts continued to own and operate its other brands — Linda Anderson, The Music Stand, Garfield Stuff, Colorful Characters and New Bargains. Wiland said the disposition of those brands “will be announced in the future.”
In 1987, Concepts built an $11 million building on Highway 119, located east of Longmont in Weld County. Wiland said he did not know yet what would become of the building. “This decision (to close the business) was just made,” he said.
Concepts (Pink Sheets: CDIR) was delisted from the Nasdaq SmallCap Market in 2002. In 2003, Wiland along with his wife, Linda, tried to buy the company to take it private again, but were unsuccessful. The Wilands own 73 percent of outstanding stock.
In October, the company announced it would pay a one-time $1.40 per share cash dividend to stockholders on Nov. 5. Wiland would not confirm the transaction or disclose how many shareholders the company has.
Concepts stock has been trading for about 15 cents. Its 52-week high was $4; the 52-week low less than a penny. The market cap is $2.62 million.
Concepts traces its beginnings to 1971 when Wiland founded Wiland Services Inc., a direct marketing database management and information services company. In 1987, Wiland Services created a consumer products division to sell personalized paper products directly to consumers. This new venture developed into the Colorful Images catalog. In 1992, Wiland Services sold the technology business and created Concepts Direct Inc. to operate Colorful Images and develop a catalog retailing business.
Wiland said he did not know what he’d do after selling the company, but said, “I’ll probably never retire.”