ALERT!!!-------GRIN----NEWS Furby sales are in, Get on it
GRAND TOYS COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF INNOVATIVE PUZZLE-MAKER,
RELATED SYMBOLS: (GRIN)
Ark Foundation LLC
Impact of Furby(TM) Sales to be Seen in Company's First Quarter
MONTREAL, Canada, Jan. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Grand Toys International,
Inc. (Nasdaq: GRIN) today announced that it has completed its
acquisition of the assets of Ark Foundation LLC, a privately held
Norwalk, Conn.-based manufacturer of innovative puzzles. Ark
Foundation, which has the potential to generate sales of between $4.0
and $5.0 million in 1999, is Grand's first acquisition as part of its
strategy to target the U.S. market with a portfolio of proprietary
products. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Lawrence Bernstein, CEO of Grand Toys, commented, "The acquisition of
Ark launches Grand's strategic acquisition program, which will broaden
the Company's focus beyond its current position as one of Canada's
premier toy distributors. Grand's strategy, the subject of a great
deal of planning over the past year, will be to build its business in
the United States by acquiring a balanced portfolio of products
targeted at the children's market."
Mr. Bernstein continued, "Ark's appeal lies in its revolutionary puzzle
design and manufacturing technology, which we believe will immediately
make Grand a significant player in the rapidly evolving world puzzle
market. Ark will become a proprietary brand for Grand, and we intend
to fully exploit its worldwide potential."
Commenting on the impact to the Company of the extremely popular
Furby(TM) interactive plush doll, which was in strong demand during the
holiday shopping season, Grand's CFO, Ron Goldenberg, said, "We were
unable to accommodate the demand in the marketplace and were forced to
allocate product among our customers through year-end. Consequently,
we do not expect a significant impact on Grand's fourth quarter
results. Based on the pent-up demand for Furby(TM), we entered 1999
with a significant backorder position, far in excess of our previous
experience with any other toy. All indications from the marketplace
are that this phenomenon will continue in 1999, and we expect to see a
greater impact on Grand's financials in the first quarter. We also
look forward to profiting from our strategic acquisition program as the
year unfolds."
Grand Toys Ltd., a subsidiary of Grand Toys International, is the
exclusive distributor of Furby(TM) in Canada and has been in the toy
business for 38 years, distributing a wide variety of toys and
ancillary items to toy retailers in Canada.
This news release contains certain forward looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995,
and is subject to risk and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially. Such risks and uncertainties include,
but are not limited to, those related to business conditions and the
financial strength of the retail industry, particularly for toy and
toy-related products; the level of consumer spending for such products;
the ability of the Company to successfully obtain its products from
suppliers; and the success of advertising, marketing and promotional
campaigns.
SOURCE Grand Toys International, Inc.
-0- 01/05/99 /CONTACT: Ron Goldenberg,
Executive Vice President & CFO of Grand Toys International,
514-685-2180, ext. 227; or General Info., Alison Ziegler, Analyst
Info., Lynn Sawyer-Landau, or Media Info., Deanne Eagle, all of The
Financial Relations Board, 212-661-8030/
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