Heelys, Inc. (NASDAQ: HLYS), the youth sports lifestyle company,
announces the opening of its European office, Heeling Sports EMEA
(SPRL). The new company, based in Brussels, Belgium, will serve as the
company´s European headquarters and extends Heelys´ brand and business
development in Western, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East,
Africa, the CIS/Russian Federation and the Balkan Region.
Heeling Sports EMEA further solidifies the company´s global growth
ambitions. The office will serve to set provisions for increased
support of Heelys´ distributors and evaluate the distribution strategy
and cooperative investment in the region. Heeling Sports EMEA will
initially employ five full-time staff and be led by John O´Neil, vice
president of International, who will manage the business out of the
EMEA office. Additionally, Bertrand Grimmonpre, who has extensive
experience in distribution, joins the office as finance and operations
director. Heeling Sports EMEA officially opened on Feb. 11, 2008.
"By expanding our European presence, Heelys can invest in staff
and offer increased support of the current distributors in the region
and evaluate future cooperative investments," said Ralph Parks,
interim CEO for Heelys. "Heeling Sports EMEA will enable the company
to grow more aggressively and effectively in Europe and supports our
goal of offering the highest standards in quality youth wheeled and
non-wheeled footwear globally."
John O´Neil joined Heelys in July 2006 and has more than 24 years
experience in the sports footwear industry. For the past 15 years, he
has been involved in international business development in distributor
and subsidiary management roles with the European headquarters for
Converse and New Balance. Bertrand Grimmonpre has extensive experience
in finance and operations. He has spent the past eight years assisting
U.S. Medical Device companies, including Cardio(3) BioSciences and
Volcano Therapeutics Europe SA, to establish EMEA companies and
distribution channels.
Heelys recently announced the opening of its representative office
in Qingdao, China. The China office is Heelys´ first company operation
outside of the U.S. and serves multiple sourcing functions including
quality control, price negotiation, logistics and product development.
Heelys serves more than 6,000 stores in the USA and more than 70
international markets across North America, Latin America, South
America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East.
Heelys created the "wheeled footwear" category with a single
stealth removable wheel housed in the heel of each shoe allowing kids
of all ages and skill levels to walk, run and transition to a roll at
any moment. Recently, Heelys introduced its broadest, most colorful
line of popular "wheel-in-the-heel footwear" for 2008, including the
company´s first ever hiking-style boot, "Rumble." Additionally, the
company introduced its first "non-wheeled" footwear product line
called the Sidewalk Sports Line revolutionary grip technology and is
geared toward sidewalk sports enthusiasts who want to focus on their
moves, rather than if their feet will stick to their gear.
About Heelys, Inc.
(NASDAQ: HLYS) Heelys, Inc. designs, markets and distributes
innovative, action sports-inspired products under the HEELYS(R) brand
targeted to the youth market. The company´s primary product,
HEELYS-wheeled footwear, is the patented dual-purpose footwear that
incorporates a stealth, removable wheel in the heel. HEELYS-wheeled
footwear allows the user to seamlessly transition from walking or
running to skating by shifting weight to the heel. Users can transform
HEELYS-wheeled footwear into street footwear by removing the wheel.
HEELYS-wheeled footwear provides users with a unique combination of
fun and style that differentiates it from other footwear and wheeled
sports products.
