ROTTERDAM, Netherlands, Feb. 3, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Head N.V. (NYSE:HED) (Vienna:HEAD), a leading global manufacturer and marketer of sports equipment, today announced a two-stage process to consolidate offices and warehousing in the U.S.
In May 2003, the Head Tyrolia Wintersports business, currently located in Byfield Massachusetts will move to Norwalk, Connecticut, where the Company's Mares/Dacor Diving business is located.
In May, the company's Winter warehouse currently located in Massachusetts will be consolidated into the new, larger, state-of-the-art distribution center located in Jessup, Maryland.
The company will continue to operate its Racquet Sports business, including Penn Worldwide, out of Phoenix, Arizona where the world's largest tennis and racquetball manufacturing facility is located.
Dave Haggerty, CEO of Head USA, commented: "This reorganization will simplify the way we do business in the United States. By consolidating common services across our three divisions -- Wintersports, Racquet Sports and Diving, we can become both more efficient, and more effective, offering a better service to our dealers, and providing more career advancement opportunities for our employees. The consolidation will be complete by the end of June 2003."
About Head
Head N.V. is a leading global manufacturer and marketer of premium sports equipment. We are a technology driven company, our motto being "Superior Performance Through Superior Technology."
We can trace our roots back to 1950 when Howard Head, the inventor of the first metal ski, founded the company. The Tyrolia bindings and Mares diving brands were added in the 1970's and more recently the Penn balls and Dacor diving brands were acquired during the 1990's.
Head N.V. has been under its present management since 1996 and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Vienna Stock Exchange in September 2000.
Our current operations are organized into four divisions: Winter Sports, Racquet Sports, Diving and Licensing.
Within these divisions we have created or acquired some of the most recognizable brands in the sporting goods market including:
Head
Tennis, squash and racquetball racquets; alpine skis and ski boots; snowboarding boards, bindings and boots; accessories and apparel
Penn
Tennis and racquetball balls
Tyrolia
Alpine ski bindings
Mares/Dacor Diving equipment
Our key ski, racquet and diving products all have leading market positions and appeal to a wide range of consumers from novices to some of the world's top athletes including Andre Agassi, Gustavo Kuerten, Hannes Trinkl and Francisco "Pipin" Ferreras. Our products are sold through over 30,000 accounts including pro shops, specialty sporting goods stores and mass merchants in over 80 countries around the world. Our strategy has always been to develop groundbreaking products positioned at middle to high price points. We believe this helps us achieve our financial returns as well as gain market share.
Please visit our Website: www.head.com