PR
Newswire -- July 29, 2010 WESTLAKE
VILLAGE, Calif., July 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- California Sports Company K-Swiss
(Nasdaq: KSWS) announced today the acquisition of Laguna Beach-based FORM Athletics.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
FORM
Athletics will operate as a division of K-Swiss led by Mark Miller, FORM's incumbent
founder and CEO. Under the agreement, Miller will become President of FORM Athletics,
and has also been appointed President of K-Swiss Orange County (KSOC), where he
will establish and lead a new division of the brand focused on the youth consumer.
A force in the action sports industry, Mark Miller has built businesses for iconic
brands for nearly three decades, launching M3 Snowboards in 1996, and more recently,
playing a key role in the growth of DC Shoes, as SVP and General Manager in the
Americas Region. "Mark
has incredible experience leading some of the most prominent action sports companies
in history, and we are confident that he will create a progressive and successful
program for K-Swiss," said Executive Vice President of K-Swiss, David Nichols.
"FORM plays well as a growth opportunity for our portfolio as Mixed Martial
Arts is one of the fastest growing, and most relevant new markets in sports today.
Viewership and participation in Mixed Martial Arts events is explosive, as is
the market for Mixed Martial Arts consumer brands." Miller
launched FORM Athletics in early 2010 in conjunction with MMA/WEC athlete and
former Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber. The brand has quickly established
itself as a successful and progressive Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and lifestyle
brand with a distinct surf-and-skate inspired aesthetic. Since its January debut,
FORM has formed a global fan following, adding powerhouse athletes including Mark
Munoz, Joseph Benavidez, and Jon "Bones" Jones to its roster. Miller
says, "In my discussions with K-Swiss, it became obvious that the companies
share brand values. There are many synergies and benefits to FORM being part of
the K-Swiss portfolio and part of a growth oriented and well financed public company,
such as global distribution, the opportunity for product line expansion, SAP as
the ERP, a great warehouse, and a very professional backend team to manage our
finances and operations. These are essential tools to run and grow a successful
company and build a brand." In
addition to overseeing the growth and future product line extensions of FORM Athletics,
Miller will be charged with forming the strategic architecture of the KSOC youth
division, guiding overall design direction, sales structure and brand direction.
He will also steer youth marketing communications programs and interface with
the brand's athlete, entertainment and music initiatives. "My
vision for this division is to create something completely authentic and extremely
relevant to reach the younger consumer. We will merge the history of K-Swiss with
the wants and needs of our target customer, in a unique way," said Miller.
"K-Swiss has an incredible 44-year history and it's the job of this new division
to tell that story in a way that is meaningful to both consumers and retailers
from a branding and product perspective." About
K-Swiss Founded
more than forty years ago in Van Nuys, California, K-Swiss (NASDAQ: KSWS) introduced
the first all-leather tennis shoe, the K-Swiss "Classic" in 1966. Since
its inception, K-Swiss has rooted itself in California Sport with an aim to be
the most inspiring and innovative sports brand in the market. Today the company
offers performance and lifestyle footwear and apparel for several categories under
its California Sports umbrella including Tennis Heritage, California Fit (Running,
Triathlon and Fitness) and California Youth. K-Swiss also designs, develops and
markets footwear under the Palladium brand, and owns the FORM Athletics brand.
For more information about K-Swiss, visit www.kswiss.com. About
FORM Athletics (www.formathletics.com) Founded
in 2010 in Laguna Beach, CA, FORM Athletics is a division of K-Swiss. The clean
athletic style of FORM apparel ties directly back to the brand ethos, and promise
to promote and celebrate the athletes' commitment and dedication to their sport.
FORM Athletics values athleticism not aggression.FORM Athletics supports and promotes
a healthy and active lifestyle. Founded by sportswear veteran Mark Miller and
WEC former Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber, FORM Athletics merges the ease
and comfort of the California lifestyle, with the discipline and techniques of
martial arts. FORM Athletics is committed to premium quality, superior materials,
and perfect fit apparel. More on FORM Athletics at: www.formathletics.com Certain
matters discussed in this press release are subject to certain risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially, including, but not limited
to: non-achievement of the assumptions discussed herein, general and regional
economic conditions, industry trends, merchandise trends, including market acceptance
of the Company's product offerings, customer demand, competition, dependence on
large customers and credit concentrations, order cancellations and reduced sales
resulting from a deepening of the current worldwide recession. A complete description
of these factors, as well as others which could affect the Company's business,
is set forth in the Company's periodic filings, including its Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended March 31, 2010, which is currently on file with the SEC. SOURCE
K-Swiss Subject
Codes: PC/t.100729080001938, PT/lang.en, PC/ticker, IN/SPT, IN/REA, IN/FAS,
SU/TNM, SU/PER, RE/California, PC/priority.r, PC/category.f, PC/class.1278,
PC/class.1255, PC/WAVO_....r., PC/APT_....r, PC/trade_r, PC/wavo5_r, PC/class.1269,
PC/WAVO_..z..., PC/APT_..z.., PC/circuit_z, PC/wavo3_z, PC/class.1000, PC/WAVO_..b...,
PC/APT_..b.., PC/circuit_b, PC/wavo3_b, PC/DataFeat_natl3, PC/port_32, PC/Billing_FC1,
PC/Billing_IRW, PC/Billing_RWB, PC/Billing_TNW, PC/Billing_WGN, PC/1stAcc_150239,
PC/bureau_LA, PC/port_01, PC/port_96, PC/port_31, PC/port_33, PC/port_19,
PC/port_91, PC/mne_baseng, PC/contact, PC/website, PC/id_LA42316 Company
Codes: NASDAQ-NMS:KSWS
|