Christmas Villages Online

On November 24, 2008, Lenox Group Inc., (aka Department 56) announced that it has filed a voluntary petition for reorganization relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the Southern District of New York. This type of bankruptcy would allow the company to continue to do business under supervision of the bankruptcy court while it tries to reorganize itself to become financially solvent.

What does this mean for our villages? Some have speculated that it could mean fewer new releases and that the recently released list of new buildings and accessories would be put on hold while this works out. Others fear a loss of quality as the company cuts costs and cuts corners, making the former high quality of their villages a thing of the past. Here’s what the company itself had to say:

“We want to assure our employees, customers, vendors and communities that Lenox is conducting business as usual,” said Marc Pfefferle, CEO of the Company. “While fundamentally sound, our business has been significantly impacted by economic conditions and excessive debt levels incurred at the time Department 56 purchased Lenox in 2005.”

For 2009, our product designers have created numerous new Village buildings that feature flashing lights, detailed interior scenes and even sound compatibility with your MP3 players. The popularity of the classic holiday movie, The Christmas Story has led us to expand our introductions for 2009. Kristi Jensen-Pierro will share with you a new line of Snowbabies™ titled, Exploration. A collection that pays tribute to our friends that live in the Arctic. We continue in 2009, to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Dickens’ Village with a fresh new series of buildings based on our original introductions. As the #1 Santa Claus Company, many new Santa designs are planned from Possible Dreams® including a piece with Santa Claus holding a North Pole lighted building!

We will have the lights on and the welcome mat out when you return on December 17th to review all of our 2009 introductions.

Well, we’ll have to wait and see. But for now, it looks like we’ll see some new pieces and that we won’t see any degradation in quality near-term. What happens longer term is anyone’s guess. If quality does take a downturn, it will be good news for those of us who own older, higher quality pieces! That would be a welcome change from the dismal secondary market prices we’ve seen in recent years. For those of you who want to speculate, check out some of the 33,000+ d56 listings now on eBay and pick up some bargains! Don’t forget to use your 10% off coupon and save a few bucks.

In my opinion, the company is responsible for much of what’s troubling it now. In spite of a very vocal group of fans who deplored the mass production of these so-called “collectibles,” Department 56 cranked out pieces like there was no tomorrow. The “limited edition” runs were so large that they didn’t sell out – they really weren’t “limited” at all. And prices were very high for pieces that weren’t selling. As part of the soul-searching going on at the company, I really hope they bring back some of the exclusivity of the Department 56 brand and limited production numbers. With competitors stocking every possible outlet with their junk, D56 needs to walk the higher ground and make their product stand out. And flooding the market with product isn’t the way to do it.

I’m looking forward to seeing a better and stronger Department 56 when this is all over. And I can’t wait to see the 2009 pieces!