Srixon - Press Releases

SRI SPORTS ANNOUNCES WORLDWIDE CLEVELAND/SRIXON CONSOLIDATION, INCLUDING NORTH AMERICA

KOBE, JAPAN, June 27, 2008 -

SRI Sports announced today that it will begin the consolidation and streamlining of its distribution channels as part of a business realignment effort on a global basis. “We believe that this consolidation will help the SRI Sports Group in strengthening sales bases of its golf gear lineup across the globe, and respond more quickly to customers’ needs than in the past,” said SRI Sports President and CEO Hiroyuki Bamba. “At the same time, we will accelerate operating efficiency by integrating the administrative as well as logistics functions, thus improving earning capacity.”

In North America specifically, beginning September 1st, 2008, Srixon Sports USA (currently headquartered in Georgia) will be merged into Cleveland Golf headquarters located in Huntington Beach, CA. This will enable Cleveland Golf to oversee the marketing, sales and distribution of Srixon products in addition to its own Cleveland Golf and Never Compromise brands.

Meanwhile, Cleveland Golf Canada Corp. (headquartered in British Columbia) will take over distribution rights for all three brands while reporting directly to Cleveland Golf’s corporate headquarters in Huntington Beach.

“We’re very excited about the opportunity afforded us to work on the Srixon brand in addition to what we already do,” said Greg Hopkins, President/CEO of Cleveland Golf. “We firmly believe that the merging of our two organizations will help fuel growth for all of our brands worldwide. Certainly, Srixon should gain a better foothold in this market with our help and SRI Sports can do wonders for Cleveland Golf in Asia.”

Most aspects of the business will simply be folded into the existing structure at Cleveland Golf including marketing, sales, tour, customer service, etc. The U.S. sales force will be expanded and the sales representatives will carry Srixon as well as Cleveland Golf and Never Compromise.

Based in Huntington Beach, CA, Cleveland Golf / Srixon both enjoy a strong presence on the PGA TOUR as well as competitive tours worldwide. Cleveland Golf's staff includes Vijay Singh, Boo Weekley, David Howell, and many other players. The company was founded in 1979 and originally manufactured high quality replicas of classic golf clubs from the 1940s and 1950s, but soon earned the reputation as an innovative producer of original equipment in its own right. Cleveland Golf remains steadfastly committed to providing tour-proven, premium golf equipment to passionate golfers at prices that ensure optimal value to consumers. For more information about Cleveland Golf please visit www.clevelandgolf.com. SRIXON Sports USA, Inc. has been distributing premium golf balls and equipment in the U.S. since 1997. Srixon’s staff includes Jim Furyk, Henrik Stenson, Karrie Webb, and many other players. SRIXON golf balls earned 26 tournament victories on multiple professional tours around the world in 2006. For more information about SRIXON please visit www.srixon.com. SRI Sports Limited owns both brands and is the number one golf club manufacturer in the world’s second largest market, Japan, and is one of the world’s leading patent holders in golf ball technology.

Based in Huntington Beach, CA, Never Compromise was founded in 1997. Never Compromise initially enjoyed a moderate amount of success on the various professional tours and it was during this period of time that Cleveland Golf took notice of this little putter company that was brimming with attitude and self-confidence. In June of 2003, Cleveland Golf purchased Never Compromise and has since re-launched it as a top-tier putter brand. Never Compromise enjoys a strong presence on the PGA TOUR, as well as competitive tours worldwide. Never Compromise staff includes Vijay Singh, Boo Weekley, Steve Flesch, and many other players. Never Compromise remains committed to providing tour-proven, premium putters to passionate golfers around the world. For more information about Never Compromise please visit www.nevercompromise.com.