Date: Fri, 19 Dec 1997 05:15:54 GMT Server: Apache/1.2.4 lock_local/0.1 Last-Modified: Fri, 12 Dec 1997 18:00:33 GMT ETag: "1329aa-fac-34917bc1" Content-Length: 4012 Accept-Ranges: bytes Connection: close Content-Type: text/html
![]() ![]() FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For more information, please contact our customer service department at 1-800-272-RUSS. RUSS BERRIE AND COMPANY ANNOUNCES GRAND OPENING OF NEW HEADQUARTERS
SHOWROOM:
OAKLAND, NEW JERSEY, NOVEMBER 17, 1997 -- Russ Berrie and Company, Inc., The Gift Company For Today's Lifestyle, announces the unveiling of its new showroom to be completed in January 1998. The state-of-the-art showroom will be 18,000 square feet, a 400% increase in the size of the existing showroom. This new facility will be one of the largest gift showrooms in the country. Visitors to the showroom will experience the presentation of the RUSS product line in a whole new way. At its center will be a dramatic domed gazebo with skylights that will house the central reception area. It will be surrounded by multi-media, themed display areas that showcase more than 7,000 RUSS products. The showroom will be laid out in a boutique manner with such varied themes as baby, and wedding, to Bears from the Past, seasonal and everyday merchandise. It will also include a demonstration retail store offering customers merchandising ideas that will continuously change with the seasons. At the same time, the company will open its new 3,500-square foot showroom in Atlanta. The permanent showroom will be on the 16th floor of the Atlanta Gift Mart, and will be ready for the biggest gift show in the country in January. In Hong Kong, Russ Berrie will open a new 3,000-square foot showroom at Gateway Tsimshatsui, a sophisticated office tower in the heart of Hong Kong's Kowloon gift and toy district. The showroom decor will combine classical architecture with modern design concepts to present RUSS as a trendsetter in the gift industry. The company, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has recently experienced strong growth in its business as demonstrated by a 25.2% increase in 1997 year to date sales as compared to 1996. Net sales from continuing operations for the nine months ended September 30, 1997 totaled $208.1 million. This sales growth is in part a result of increased visits by customers to the Oakland showroom. Customers from across the country have been able to better understand the breadth of the RUSS gift line through these showroom visits. Russ Berrie and Company, Inc., designs, develops and distributes more than 7,000 seasonal and everyday gift products to independent retailers nationwide. Its diverse range of products includes everything from teddy bears and stuffed animals to baby gifts, picture frames, candles, figurines, home decor gifts and a wide variety of merchandise as well as seasonal products for Mother's Day, Father's Day, Easter, Halloween, Valentine's Day and Thanksgiving. Remember, if you're a retailer and would like to get invited to one of our Grand Openings in Oakland, Atlanta or Hong Kong, please call a Russ customer service representative at 1-800-272-RUSS. copyright 1997 Russ Berrie & Company, Inc. all rights reserved |