Salomon North America:
Announces Mid-'99 Move From Georgetown, MASS., to Portland, OR
1/20/99

GEORGETOWN, Mass.--Jan. 20, 1999--Salomon North America announced today that it will move its headquarters from Georgetown, Mass., to Portland OR. The move will be completed by September 1999. In the next couple of months, Salomon management will determine how many of its 100 employees will move.

Salomon will initially occupy office space adjacent to buildings already occupied by adidas America in Beaverton, OR, and eventually move with the entire adidas U.S.-based organization in 2000 to the new facility currently under construction in North Portland.

"The Portland move is a well-funded, significant step aimed at increasing the acceleration and efficiency of both the Salomon and adidas businesses in the United States," says Salomon North America President Steve Bagby. "At the same time, it's a decision that we have not taken lightly. We realize the significance a move like this has on our employees, customers, and suppliers, and have taken great pains to make sure that this is an extremely positive development in the progress of the Salomon brand in North America. We do believe that the move will provide career development opportunities for many and a great opportunity for both companies to share resources," said Bagby.

Eventually, Salomon will integrate warehousing, finance, logistics, legal, information systems, and customer service functions with those of adidas America. The management, sales, and marketing groups will function separately from those of adidas, and the sales forces will not change. Steve Bagby will report to adidas-Salomon North America CEO Steve Wynne.

According to Wynne, "The move of Salomon North America to Portland and the eventual integration of a range of functions common to each company are steps forward in managing future growth and development. Our commitment will focus on retaining the individual brand identities and unique corporate cultures while allowing the common synergies to benefit both organizations."

In the short term, to ensure that there is no disruption to the business, Salomon will create a parallel system with adidas for customer service, logistics, and shipping during this extended transition period. "This will ensure that our customers will not be inconvenienced in any way and that our business will not miss a beat," says Bagby.

With the move, the Salomon Service Center will be relocated to the Denver area to service warranty, competition, and repair needs. Mavic U.S.A., also located in Georgetown, will not be part of this relocation. The company is currently evaluating a relocation to another area of the United States.

Salomon is one of the portfolio of sports brands of adidas-Salomon AG, the number two sporting goods manufacturer in the world. In North America, Salomon is based in Georgetown, Massachusetts. Salomon design, development, and manufacturing is located in Annecy, France, and Boulder, Colorado. Salomon products include inline skates; cross-country ski boots and bindings; alpine skis, boots and bindings; snowboards, snowboard boots and bindings; SnowBlades(TM); and technical mountaineering, backpacking and outdoor footwear. The adidas-Salomon brand portfolio also includes adidas footwear and apparel, TAYLOR MADE golf clubs and accessories, MAVIC wheels and bicycle rims, and BONFIRE SNOWBOARDING apparel and accessories. Salomon information can be accessed on the World Wide Web at http://www.salomonsports.com.

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