CHICAGO, Sept. 15, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- XA, Inc. (XA) (OTCBB:XAIN), a major national event marketing firm that serves many Fortune 500 companies, reports that one of its wholly-owned subsidiaries has been selected by the Summer & Casual Furniture Manufacturers Association (SCFMA) and Merchandise Mart Properties Inc. (MMPI) as the event production agency for the Annual Apollo Awards dinner at the Navy Pier Grand Ballroom in Chicago, Illinois on September 15, 2005.
This is the 46th Annual Apollo Awards honoring the top casual furniture retailers. The Awards dinner also recognizes those excelling in product design and honors select industry leaders with its Lifetime Achievement Awards.
Darren Andereck, Executive Vice President of The Experiential Agency Inc., stated, "We are thrilled to have such a long standing relationship producing the Apollo Awards in Chicago, where we can provide audio visual and design expertise with an entertaining reception afterwards for all of the SCFMA honorees."
Marketers spent $152 billion in event marketing in 2003, up about 15% since 2002. In 2003, budgets for event marketing reached an average of $901,935, according to PROMO's 2004 Event Marketing Study. (Source: PROMO Magazine, January 1, 2005)
On September 9, 2005, XA submitted a press release and quoted Marcy Manley regarding Discount Tire Co. The press release incorrectly stated that Ms. Manley is the President of XA, rather than stating that Ms. Manley is the President of the Production Division of The Experiential Agency, Inc.
About the Summer & Casual Furniture Manufacturers Association
The Summer & Casual Furniture Manufacturers Association is headquartered in High Point, N.C. - the furniture capital of the world - and represents more than 80 leading manufacturers and importers of summer and casual products.
About Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc.
Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. (MMPI) is a trade show and property management firm, specializing in managing buildings devoted to wholesale showrooms and commercial office space. MMPI produces more than 300 trade shows, market events and conferences each year.
MMPI manages The Merchandise Mart, 350 W. Mart Center, and 33 North Dearborn in Chicago; Market Square, the Suites at Market Square, Hamilton Market, Plaza Suites, Furniture Plaza and the National Furniture Mart in High Point, N.C.; the Architects & Designers Building and 7 W New York in New York; the L.A. Mart in Los Angeles; and the Washington Design Center and Washington Office Center in Washington D.C.
Vornado Realty Trust, owner of MMPI, based in New York City, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust. Vornado's common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and are traded under the symbol VNO.
About XA
XA is a holding company for several wholly-owned subsdiaries, one of which is The Experiential Agency, Inc., an Illinois corporation. The Experiential Agency, Inc. has offices in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles from which it provides corporations and highly visible brands with comprehensive event marketing, design and production services. Since 1989, the XA team has been the creative force behind prestigious, national projects for such clients as The NBA, Disney, McDonald's, British Telecom, Song Airlines, Eurex, Olympus, Salvatore Ferragamo, Vogue, W Hotels, ABN AMRO and Emirates Airline. In 2003 and 2004, Special Events Magazine ranked XA as one of the "Top 50 Powerhouse Event Companies in the World."
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In particular, when used in the preceding discussion, the words "believes," "expects," "intends," "will," "anticipated," or "may," and similar conditional expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Act and are subject to the safe harbor created by the Act. Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations and assumptions contained in the foregoing are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. It is possible that the assumptions made by management are not necessarily the most likely and may not materialize. In addition, other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include the following: business conditions and the amount of growth in the company's industry and general economy; competitive factors; ability to attract and retain personnel; the price of the Company's stock; and the risk factors set forth from time to time in the Company's SEC reports, including but not limited to its annual report on Form 10-KSB; its quarterly reports on Forms 10-QSB; and any reports on Form 8-K. XA, Inc. (OTC BB: XAIN) takes no obligation to update or correct forward-looking statements and also takes no obligation to update or correct information prepared by third parties that is not paid for by the Company.