Design Group Americas (DGA), parent company of the Big 4 sewing pattern brands, announced on Friday that it has voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In early June, we reported that DGA had been sold into liquidation. This development may provide a hint about their potential future.

The new owner of DGA, Hilco Capital, is calling the move “a value maximization strategy.” Filing for bankruptcy allows DGA to dissolve the brands that Hilco deems unsustainable and to sell those that could have redeeming value.

DGA owns 27 craft brands, of which Simplicity, Butterick, Vogue, and McCalls are just four. Other craft brands readers may recognize include Perler, Boye, and Wrights. But DGA owns over 50 brands in total, many in other sectors such as toys and games for children, stickers, party supplies, and gift wrap. It’s not clear whether Hilco has determined that the sewing and craft brands may have value to potential buyers or not. What is clear is that the bankruptcy filing will allow DGA to wind down its domestically produced ribbon business, a segment Hilco has deemed unsustainable.

“Following DGA’s sale to an affiliate of Hilco Capital Group, we have worked diligently with our advisors to evaluate the optimal path forward for the business,” said Sue Buchta, Chief Executive Officer of DGA. “We enter the court-supervised sale process in dialogue with multiple interested parties for certain of our business segments as a going concern and intend to leverage chapter 11 to maximize the value of our assets.”

So while we don’t know specifics, it sounds as though there could be potential buyers interested in purchasing at least some of the craft and sewing brands, and, in the interim, those brands will continue to operate. Meanwhile, Simplicity continues to post on its Instagram account, and longtime Simplicity designer and partner, MimiG, has assured her followers that “it’s business as usual at Simplicity Creative Group and we’re moving full steam ahead.”

Abby Glassenberg

Contributor