# WSP Acquires Rustic & Elements



## Zany_in_CO (Apr 20, 2021)

November 19, 2020
Wholesale Supplies Plus (“WSP”) has acquired Rustic Escentuals (“Rustic”) and Elements Bath and Body (“Elements”)

Two Acquisitions by Wholesale Supplies Plus - Incline Equity

ETA: Newbie say the darnedest things! We owe this information to @ImpKit. He posted it in *this thread*. The discussion went forward from there.


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## Quanta (Apr 21, 2021)

Well, there goes Elements' quick shipping times.


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## Zany_in_CO (Apr 21, 2021)

@Quanta - My thoughts exactly.


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## ImpKit (Apr 21, 2021)

For what it's worth, I will add here that I've only ever ordered from WSP and RE since the acquisition. I've ordered from WSP once and RE twice. Both RE orders were out the door in a day or two; WSP, as is apparently notorious, was much slower.

Obviously everyone's individual mileage may vary, but I would personally not assume that these acquisitions will, necessarily, mean that Elements and RE will ship on the same (slow) timeline as WSP.

(That said, my first RE order DID have a customer service issue: my shea butter was out of stock and not shipped. My box invoice said they would be refunding me but when I called to verify, they had no notes on my order about a refund or out of stock product & no refund was pending. They were able to immediately send out a replacement product at no cost. So I'm a bit leery of RE for this reason...)


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## Quanta (Apr 21, 2021)

ImpKit said:


> For what it's worth, I will add here that I've only ever ordered from WSP and RE since the acquisition. I've ordered from WSP once and RE twice. Both RE orders were out the door in a day or two; WSP, as is apparently notorious, was much slower.


When a newbie orders from WSP, their estimated date of retirement from soaping must be taken into account.



> Obviously everyone's individual mileage may vary, but I would personally not assume that these acquisitions will, necessarily, mean that Elements and RE will ship on the same (slow) timeline as WSP.
> 
> (That said, my first RE order DID have a customer service issue: my shea butter was out of stock and not shipped. My box invoice said they would be refunding me but when I called to verify, they had no notes on my order about a refund or out of stock product & no refund was pending. They were able to immediately send out a replacement product at no cost. So I'm a bit leery of RE for this reason...)


I had that exact customer service issue recently, but with WSP. Except the item was not out of stock. I emailed them to say that my item didn't ship and that there was a stamp on the packing slip that said the item was out of stock and I'd be refunded, but there was no refund and the item was not out of stock (according to the website). A few days after I sent the email, a refund suddenly appeared on my account but I never got a reply to my email. I'd rather they ship my item separately, but no.

RE and WSP ship from the same warehouse now. What were the packer's initials on your packing slip? Was it AB by some coincidence?

I also bought some candle jars from RE that were very poorly padded in the box, and one arrived broken. I am not using the rest of that case of jars for candles now because once glass has been shocked that way it's more likely to shatter in use. I'm not risking it. They did give me a refund after I filed a claim with UPS (who didn't even deliver it to the correct address, I had to go find it after I got the delivery notification). The box, when I did find it, was on its side so it was a group effort between RE and UPS to sabotage that shipment, it felt like.


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## ImpKit (Apr 21, 2021)

Quanta said:


> RE and WSP ship from the same warehouse now. What were the packer's initials on your packing slip? Was it AB by some coincidence?



No idea. I bought the supplies at Christmas and received them in early January. But your experience on in stock online / reportedly out of stock based on the invoice matches my experience. I checked before I called...

This is basically why I am leery of them but they have some good prices and a few unique things I want to try (Stainless Steel fragrance oil on RE sounds wonderful!)


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## Zany_in_CO (Apr 21, 2021)

Quanta said:


> When a newbie orders from WSP, their estimated date of retirement from soaping must be taken into account.






 I laughed so hard when I read that I almost fell off my rocking chair!


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## Quanta (Apr 21, 2021)

Zany_in_CO said:


> View attachment 56379
> I laughed so hard when I read that I almost fell off my rocking chair!


You know it's true though!


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## Cheeky Goat (Apr 22, 2021)

Zany_in_CO said:


> View attachment 56379
> I laughed so hard when I read that I almost fell off my rocking chair!


It made me giggle as well!


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## Cheeky Goat (Apr 22, 2021)

Since they have now also bought MYOB, those shipping times have plummeted as well. Which is extra annoying as they were one of my very favorites.


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## ravenscents (Apr 22, 2021)

Why are they so far behind???!


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## earlene (Apr 22, 2021)

Cheeky Goat said:


> Since they have now also bought MYOB, those shipping times have plummeted as well. Which is extra annoying as they were one of my very favorites.


What is MYOB?

More history:





						Incline Equity Partners Acquires Wholesale Supplies Plus | Mergr M&A Deal Summary
					

On July 16, 2019, private equity firm Incline Equity Partners acquired distribution company Wholesale Supplies Plus




					mergr.com
				











						Deb May on letting go of her family business, Wholesale Supplies Plus
					

Deb May, of Wholesale Supplies Plus, sold her business and stepped away from the company. She talks about her preparation and the difficulty of letting go.




					www.smartbusinessdealmakers.com
				








						About Us - Wholesale Supplies Plus
					






					www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com
				



Notice this statement:


2019Wholesale Supplies Plus consolidates Crafter’s Choice Brands, Handmade Studio, Handmade Stores, and Naturally Smart Labs.  This initiative will assist in streamlining operations as well as improving service and the overall customer experience.


That made me chuckle in light of all the recent reports!

ACTUALLY, WSP is not buying these companies.  Incline Equity is.






						Our Portfolio - Incline Equity
					

Incline’s main objective is to encourage and support growth for our portfolio companies and investors. Take a closer look at our mid market PE portfolio here.




					inclineequity.com
				



They are acquiring a diverse portfolio, including transportation, delivery (in Texas), orthotics, healthcare supply,  horticulture, lawn & garden, power (maintenance of power supply systems), accounting services, software, concrete prep & cleaning, real estate appraisal & assessment, laundry services, a variety of manufacturing from playground & leisure equipment to home hardware products to conveyor belts to industrial production of ball bearings & related products for North American industries to lab equipment sold around the world, including analytical applications for anything from water to oil to hazardous waste, repair services, EUV batteries, laboratories & certification processes, inspection &  certification services to fuel industries, packaging related production, Cold Storage, dance wear, wine distribution, food industry supply to major grocery store chains in NE United States, Energy company (in NY  state), even a waste disposal company in SE United States .........

I don't know what to make of all of this, but looking at all (and I actually haven't looked at all of their acquisitions yet) but it looks to me like they are building an empire that will eventually be able to run and sustain a country.

I sure hope their intentions are good.


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## Kcryss (Apr 22, 2021)

earlene said:


> What is MYOB?


Make Your Own Buzz

Edit: Brief Look About MakeYourOwn Business and Products
I did order with them in Feb and my order was shipped 3 days later ... not two weeks. So it seems they may be owned by WSP, but so far they are keeping with their quick shipping. Sadly, this shipment was lost by FedEx during the big winter storm that hit in their area.


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## earlene (Apr 22, 2021)

Kcryss said:


> Make Your Own Buzz
> 
> Edit: Brief Look About MakeYourOwn Business and Products
> I did order with them in Feb and my order was shipped 3 days later ... not two weeks. So it seems they may be owned by WSP, but so far they are keeping with their quick shipping. Sadly, this shipment was lost by FedEx during the big winter storm that hit in their area.


That is disturbing in light of all else related to Incline Equity's acquisition of WSP and WSP's declining customer service.

I don't order often from chemistry connection, but have a couple of times.  I don't really want to find a new source the next time I need those products.


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## Kcryss (Apr 22, 2021)

earlene said:


> That is disturbing in light of all else related to Incline Equity's acquisition of WSP and WSP's declining customer service.
> 
> I don't order often from chemistry connection, but have a couple of times. I don't really want to find a new source the next time I need those products.



I agree. I have been using myob for a long time. They have good prices, service has always been great and they generally have most of what I need. Between myob and lotion crafters I've been able to get most of what I need with wsp filling in for the rest.


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## AliOop (Apr 22, 2021)

That is sad news. MYOB, Chemistry Connection, and SaveOnCitric were all owned by a single, small, family business. Their prices were the best and their shopping times were decent. I sure hope that this buyout doesn’t change things.


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## Rsapienza (Apr 22, 2021)

I ordered from RE recently and my order was shipped within 2 days. I was hoping for the free shipping, but did not get it. WSP took about 2 weeks and they sent me 1 of something I should have had 12 of. I simply filled out the contact us form, had a response within 3-5 days or so and my missing items were shipped immediately.


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## Zany_in_CO (Apr 22, 2021)

earlene said:


> I sure hope their intentions are good.


Amen to that, sistah.


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## beckster51 (Apr 23, 2021)

I recently ordered some polysorbate 80 from MYOB.  Actually it was weeks ago.  I have not received it yet, but I did receive an apology email yesterday from them that it had not been shipped.  Their website is now saying 14-16 days to deliver, but it has been longer than that since I ordered, I believe.  I will have to look that up.  You also need to realize that I live close to them, so their so-called shipping delays do not hold water with me.  I should have received it long ago.


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## true blue (Apr 23, 2021)

AliOop said:


> That is sad news. MYOB, Chemistry Connection, and SaveOnCitric were all owned by a single, small, family business. Their prices were the best and their shopping times were decent. I sure hope that this buyout doesn’t change things.


I'll second that one in a heartbeat! So sad to read all this!!!!


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## Savonette (Apr 23, 2021)

MYOB was my go-to after I got sick and tired of WSPs shipping delays and rotating sales practices. This info makes sense now.


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## TheGecko (Apr 23, 2021)

Zany_in_CO said:


> November 19, 2020
> Wholesale Supplies Plus (“WSP”) has acquired Rustic Escentuals (“Rustic”) and Elements Bath and Body (“Elements”)



I had heard about RE, but not Elements.  Darn!


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## mommycarlson (Apr 24, 2021)

I ordered from RE and several items were out of stock even though they were in stock when I ordered, then my order came in a couple different shipments and different size bottles. Like I ordered 16 oz of a FO and got a  12 and  a 4 oz bottle. I also HATE the new clear labels! They are super tiny and I can't easily read the name of the FO, I have to get my glasses and pick up each bottle to squint at it just to see what it says. Not liking the new changes so far


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## TheGecko (Apr 24, 2021)

mommycarlson said:


> and different size bottles. Like I ordered 16 oz of a FO and got a 12 and a 4 oz bottle.



That would be because there is a bottle shortage.  They may not have been able to get as many 16 oz as they wanted.


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## mommycarlson (Apr 24, 2021)

Ahhhh well that makes sense. A little note letting me know would have been nice. I was thinking I ordered them that way


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