A version of this article first ran in Craft Industry Insider, our monthly newsletter for corporations and larger businesses in the crafts industry.

Another major player in the craft and gift industry is in liquidation.

Design Group Americas (DGA) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 3, 2025, just over a month after turnover firm Hilco Capital acquired it from U.K. parent IG Design Group plc for $1 plus 75% of proceeds from any future sales.

It seems to have been a perfect storm of declining sales combined with tariff uncertainty and bankruptcies of key retail customers, including Joann and Party City. IG said insolvencies among U.S. retailers accounted for 20% of the DGA revenue decline.

DGA is now being sold for parts, just like Joann was, by the same company that handled the Joann sale. Most of the company is for sale as a going concern, with the domestically manufactured woven ribbon products business (Offray) being wound down.

How did DGA get so big?

Design Group Americas’ origins start more than 100 years ago as a postcard manufacturer called Hy-Sil, which later expanded to gift wrap. IG Design Group plc purchased Hy-Sil in 1989, later acquiring Stephen Lawrence in 2001, Glitterwrap in 2007 and the Lang Companies in 2016 and adding them to the Design Group Americas division.

Meanwhile, CSS Industries began as a consolidation of several department stores called City Stores Co. in Philadelphia in 1923, growing through the post-war period with various retail endeavors. After a bankruptcy, the company was renamed CSS Industries in 1985 and began acquiring companies in the consumer sector. CSS expanded to gift wrap and related products with the $38 million acquisition of Paper Magic Group in 1988. CSS acquired Berwick Industries, a ribbon and bow manufacturer, in 1993, gift wrap and trim manufacturer Cleo Inc. for $133 million in 1995, and Color Clings Inc. in 1997.

The Big Four in sewing patterns — Simplicity, McCall’s, Butterick, Vogue — hold 90% of the sewing pattern market in the U.S. Butterick absorbed Vogue in 1961. McCall’s purchased Butterick in 2001 and then Kwik Sew in 2011. CSS Industries acquired McCall’s in 2016 for $14 million and then also picked up Simplicity in 2017 for $64 million. The FTC blocked Simplicity’s attempt to acquire McCall’s in 2000, because the merger would have created one company with more than 75% of the market, but seemingly didn’t bat an eye in 2017.

IG Design Group purchased CSS Industries in 2020 for £89.7 million (about $120 million), more than doubling the size of its U.S. business and entering the craft market. The purchase solidified Walmart as their biggest customer, growing to 22% of the company’s revenue from 18% the year before, and introduced Joann as a customer.

Design Group Americas saw its revenue grow by 73% after the acquisition of CSS, from $355.9 million in fiscal year 2020 to $614 million in 2021. But struggles appeared in 2022, with an operating loss blamed on freight and raw material costs alongside wage inflation for DGA. The company embarked on strategic initiatives to restore profitability for DGA in 2023, including installing new leadership, reducing head count by 100, “nearshoring” production to Mexico, and selling off its plant in Manhattan, Kansas.

But revenue declined again in 2024, and DGA closed plants in 12 more U.S. locations, reduced headcount by 200 and further outsourced production to Mexico. In 2025, revenue declined again by 12%, which DGA attributed to weaker consumer demand and customer bankruptcies during the year.

Joann reportedly accounted for more than 5% of DGA’s revenue in fiscal 2024. DGA filed a claim of $2.8 million for unpaid invoices from July through December 2024 with Joann’s bankruptcy administrator. In its 2025 financial report, IG Design Group noted an impairment of $54.2 million relating to DGA assets in light of customer bankruptcy.

What happens now?

Hilco is now selling off assets associated with the following four business segments of DGA, as described by the bankruptcy documents:

• Sewing: consists of accounts receivable, inventory, and machinery/equipment supporting the production of sewing patterns; accounts receivable and inventory related to sewing supplies and other ancillaries; and any related intellectual propertyincluding brand names, trademarks, website domain names, patents and copyrights.
• Gift: consists of accounts receivable, inventory, and machinery/equipment supporting the production of wrapping paper; accounts receivable, inventory, and machinery/equipment supporting the production of poly bows; accounts receivable and inventory related to other items, including gift bags and boxes; and any relatedintellectual property.
• Stationery: consists of accounts receivable and inventory related tocalendars, dated products, journals, greeting cards, other stationery, and similar products, and any related intellectual property.
• Play: consists of accounts receivable and inventory related to toys, games, arts and crafts kits, and other child-friendly products and novelties; and any related intellectual property.