Tuesday December 19, 8:36 am Eastern Time
Press Release
NorStar Inks U.K. Deal Valued at USD$15 Million
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 19, 2000--NorStar Group, Inc., (OTCBB:NSTG - news) announced this morning that it has entered into a Distribution Agreement with the British consumer goods distributor, J & D Associates, for the exclusive right to distribute NorStar's, proprietary virtual reality viewer, The Cybervisor (TM), a light weight and affordable wrap-around style headgear, throughout the United Kingdom. NorStar's UK distribution agreement has a projected income value of USD$15 million over the next five years.
``NorStar is very enthusiastic about this Distribution Agreement,'' said Jay Sanet, NorStar's Director of Corporate Development. ``We are the only source of the Cybervisor(TM) and its main advantages are its major selling points: it is affordably priced and has a very comfortable, hygienic style. Unlike the helmets of other manufacturers, its cool, lightweight wrap-around style fits users of all ages and makes the entire experience much more realistic and enjoyable for longer periods of time. It can be worn comfortably with or without eyeglasses. In today's world, virtual reality as a learning and educational tool is still a novelty and, because of the high cost of the basic viewing equipment - the helmets - limits usage to only a few at a time in any group. With the Cybervisor(TM), we envision entire classes or groups as well as individuals using them as part of their everyday experiences to view all types of virtual reality programs simultaneously for fun, education or pure enjoyment for longer periods of time. We believe the Cybervisor(TM) is going to do for the development, expansion and usage of virtual reality programming of all types what the development of Gutenberg's press did for reading or what the union of music and video into MTV did for the music industry.''
J & D Associates, a British distributor of consumer goods, has been established in the UK for over 10 years with outlets for retail sales of consumer products as well as fixed connections with wholesalers of electronics and games. J & D is prepared to undertake an aggressive marketing campaign with Internet, print, and television advertisements as soon as the promotional and marketing materials become available.
``The Company is presently in negotiations with other regional distributors and NorStar anticipates signing similar distribution agreements in the near term,'' said Jay Sanet, NorStar's Director of Corporate Development. ``This milestone agreement is consistent with our business model that projects NorStar becoming revenue driven in 2001,'' added Sanet. According to CyberEdge Research the worldwide VizSim/Virtual Reality market, worth more than $24 billion in 2000, is expanding at more than 50% annually. VizSim/Virtual Reality systems are used for applications as diverse as medical training, virtual prototyping, entertainment, gaming, cultural preservation, and architecture.
Other industry analysts are reporting that the computer games industry is going to be big, a $20 billion industry worldwide by 2002, according to DFC intelligence. The same report noted that video games and interactive entertainment ``are of prime strategic importance in the race to provide consumer online and broadband services.'' The report predicted the growth of hybrid game machines capable of accessing the Web for multiplayer purposes or browsing.
The Cybervisor(TM) is NorStar's lightweight, comfortable, and affordable proprietary virtual reality headgear designed for home, school, and business, which can be used to display virtual reality or three-dimensional products. These proprietary entertainment, educational, and business products and services are expected to become available from NorStar's own inventory and those of its alliance partners.
Sanet went on to say, ``NorStar is positioned to meet the rising global demand for Virtual Reality products. Virtual Reality markets represent the next natural station for the Internet and all surveys indicate this to be a major expansion area. When the world thinks of innovative Virtual Reality products NorStar will be the first name that comes to mind,'' added Sanet.
Through selective acquisitions and partnering alliances, NorStar Group, Inc. (OTCBB:NSTG - news) is positioning itself to be a leading provider of interactive, virtual reality, entertainment, educational, and business products and services. NorStar is also the co-developer of a proprietary lightweight, comfortable and affordable virtual reality headgear, The Cybervisor(TM), which is designed for home, school, and business.
Safe Harbor: Certain statements contained in this press release, including but not limited to information regarding the future economic performance and financial condition of the Company, the plans and objectives of the Company's management and the Company's assumptions regarding such performance and plans, are forward-looking in nature. Many factors and conditions could cause actual results to differ from the forward-looking information contained in this public announcement.
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Contact:
NorStar Group, Inc., Fort Lauderdale
Jay Sanet, 954/772-0240, Fax 954/492-0155
Email: NSTG@Bellsouth.net |
