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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE 14A
(Rule 14a-101)
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN PROXY STATEMENT
SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION
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For Immediate Release
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July 30, 2010 |
CROWN CRAFTS BOARD RESPONDS TO THE LATEST DECEPTIVE ASSERTIONS BY THE WYNNEFIELD GROUP
Gonzales, Louisiana The Crown Crafts, Inc. (NASDAQ-CM: CRWS) Board of Directors today
issued a letter to all shareholders in response to the false and misleading statements included in
a July 29, 2010 letter to shareholders from the New York-based investment fund Wynnefield Partners
Small Cap Value, L.P. and certain of its affiliates (the Wynnefield Group), which has instigated a
proxy fight in connection with the election of directors at the Companys annual meeting of
shareholders to be held on August 10, 2010. The following is the Crown Crafts Boards letter to
shareholders in response to the Wynnefield Groups latest deceptive statements:
AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
July 30, 2010
Dear Fellow Crown Crafts Shareholders:
In their desperate and reprehensible attempt to win their solely self-serving proxy fight, the
Wynnefield Partners Small Cap Value, L.P. and certain of its affiliates (the Wynnefield Group) have
previously twisted the facts in many of their communications to shareholders. Now they have stooped
so low that they are publishing LIES to attempt to sway the votes of Crown Crafts shareholders.
In a letter to Crown Crafts shareholders dated July 29, 2010, the Wynnefield Group claims that
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer E. Randall Chestnut has a history of long
non-publically explained absences from the Company.
This is an outright LIE, and the Board members signing this letter confirm that Mr. Chestnut
does NOT have a history of absences and has NEVER taken a medical leave from the Company. His only
serious medical issue was in 2009 when he underwent heart bypass surgery. At that time he was out
of the office for only two weeks and worked from home for all but three days. He is in great
health and remains totally immersed in running the business.
916 S.
Burnside Avenue * PO Box 1028
* Gonzales, LA 70707-1028 * (225)
647-9100 * Fax (225) 647-9104
The Wynnefield Group states further that a Crown Craft Board member has discussed with a
Wynnefield principal Mr. Chestnuts extremely serious health conditions. The fact is that a
conversation took place with Board member Frederick Wasserman who was handpicked by the
Wynnefield Group to serve on the Crown Crafts Board as well as the boards of six other companies in
the Wynnefield Groups portfolio during which Mr. Wasserman discussed Mr. Chestnuts surgery in
2009. This conversation took place during a time when the Wynnefield Group was contractually
designated as an insider under their standstill agreement with the Company. At no time did Mr.
Wasserman imply that Mr. Chestnut had a history of absences for medical or any other reasons. In
fact, Nelson Obus, a principal of the Wynnefield Group, e-mailed Mr. Chestnut shortly after his
surgery and referred to it as a little tune-up.
Commenting on this latest direct affront by the Wynnefield Group, Mr. Chestnut said, I am
deeply insulted by Wynnefields outlandish personal attack and totally unprofessional behavior,
which has now reached an all-time low.
The Wynnefield Group further claims it is concerned that there is no publicly disclosed
succession plan to address the possibility of the CEO being unable to carry out his duties or
obligations. In fact, Crown Crafts has a detailed, state-of-the-art, written succession plan in
place. Prudently, and in line with long-established corporate governance best practices, no public
company board, to our knowledge, discloses its carefully constructed succession plan outside the
board room.
This is just the latest in a series of misleading statements by the Wynnefield Group in an
increasingly desperate attempt to distort the facts, something they have a track record of doing.
For another example, the Wynnefield Group also continues to state that if their slate is voted onto
the Board, they will have only two directors representing them, conveniently ignoring that Joseph
Kling was also their handpicked director and remains on the Board.
As noted earlier this week by Glass Lewis & Co., a leading independent governance analysis and
proxy voting firm, which has issued a report favoring the Board-recommended slate over the
Wynnefield Groups nominees, Crown Crafts has consistently performed better than its peers in
several important metrics, including total return to shareholders and return on equity. The Glass
Lewis report concludes that the Wynnefield Group has offered shareholders limited reason to
believe that its nominees, with limited industry experience, can develop a pro forma operating
structure or plan superior to the one currently employed by management and the board.
Could it be that the Wynnefield Group is sensing that it lacks support for its baseless
criticisms and has decided not to let the facts stand in its way?
We want all of our shareholders to know that this unethical tactic by the Wynnefield Group is
DESPICABLE and provides further support for our belief that the Wynnefield Group is interested only
in serving their own selfish, short-sighted agenda and will stop at nothing in their deceptive
actions to achieve their purpose.
Your vote is very important to us, no matter the size of your holdings. We urge you to vote
your shares today IN FAVOR OF YOUR BOARD-SUPPORTED NOMINEES E. RANDALL CHESTNUT, WILLIAM T.
DEYO, JR., SIDNEY KIRSCHNER AND RICHARD L. SOLAR by signing, dating and returning the enclosed
WHITE proxy card by mailing it in the enclosed pre-addressed, stamped envelope. You can
also vote by internet or telephone by following the instructions on the WHITE proxy card.
Please do not sign or return any gold proxy card sent to you by the Wynnefield Group as a
reminder, you cannot vote the gold proxy card and also vote for our Chief Executive
Officer, E. Randall Chestnut, or any other Class I nominee. If you have any questions or need any
assistance voting your shares, do not hesitate to contact Georgeson, who is assisting us in this
matter, toll free at 1-888-605-7561.
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On behalf of the Board of Directors and the dedicated men and women of Crown Crafts, we thank
you for your ongoing support.
Signed by the Board of Directors (with Frederick Wasserman abstaining).
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/s/ E. Randall Chestnut
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E. Randall Chestnut |
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/s/ William T. Deyo, Jr.
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William T. Deyo, Jr. |
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/s/ Zenon S. Nie
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Zenon S. Nie |
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/s/ Donald Ratajczak
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Donald Ratajczak |
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/s/ Joseph Kling
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Joseph Kling |
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YOUR VOTE IS IMPORTANT
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To vote FOR your Companys nominees, you MUST execute a WHITE proxy card. |
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The Board of Directors urges you to DISCARD any gold proxy cards that you may have
received from the Wynnefield Group. A WITHHOLD AUTHORITY vote on the Wynnefield Groups
gold proxy card is NOT a vote for the Companys nominees. |
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If you have voted on a gold proxy card but wish to support your Companys nominees,
please sign, date and mail the enclosed WHITE proxy card in the postage-paid envelope
provided as soon as possible. You can also vote by internet or telephone by following the
instructions on the WHITE proxy card. |
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Remember ONLY YOUR LATEST DATED PROXY WILL DETERMINE HOW YOUR SHARES ARE TO BE VOTED
AT THE MEETING. |
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If any of your shares are held in the name of a bank, broker or other nominee, please
contact the party responsible for your account and direct them to vote your shares FOR your
Companys nominees on the WHITE proxy card. |
If you have any questions or need assistance in voting your shares,
please contact our proxy solicitor.
199 Water Street, 26
th Floor
New York, NY 10038
Banks and Brokers (212) 440-9800
Shareholders Call Toll Free (888) 605-7561
***END OF LETTER TO SHAREHOLDERS***
About Crown Crafts, Inc.
Crown Crafts, Inc. designs, markets and distributes infant, toddler and juvenile consumer products,
including crib and toddler bedding; blankets; nursery accessories; room décor; burp cloths; bathing
accessories; reusable and disposable bibs; and disposable placemats, floor mats, toilet seat covers
and changing mats. The Companys operating subsidiaries include Hamco, Inc. in Louisiana and Crown
Crafts Infant Products, Inc. in California. Crown Crafts is Americas largest producer of infant
bedding, bibs and bath items. The Companys products include licensed and branded collections as
well as exclusive private label programs for certain of its
customers. www.crowncrafts.com.
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Contact: |
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Olivia Elliott |
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Vice President and Chief Financial Officer |
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225-647-9124 |
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Forward-Looking Statements
The foregoing contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933,
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such
statements are based upon managements current expectations, projections, estimates and
assumptions. Words such as expects, believes, anticipates and variations of such words and
similar expressions identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve
known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from
those suggested by the forward-looking statements. These risks include, among others, general
economic conditions, including changes in interest rates, in the overall level of consumer spending
and in the price of oil, cotton and other raw materials used in the Companys products, changing
competition, changes in the retail environment, the level and pricing of future orders from the
Companys customers, the extent to which the Companys business is concentrated in a small number
of customers, the Companys dependence upon third-party suppliers, including some located in
foreign countries, customer acceptance of both new designs and newly-introduced product lines,
actions of competitors that may impact the Companys business, disruptions to transportation
systems or shipping lanes used by the Company or its suppliers, and the Companys dependence upon
licenses from third parties. Reference is also made to the Companys periodic filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission for additional factors that may impact the Companys results of
operations and financial condition. The Company does not undertake to update the forward-looking
statements contained herein to conform to actual results or changes in our expectations, whether as
a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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