Dorel Home Acquires UK Furniture Distributor and Expands European Footprint

MONTRÉAL, Oct. 01, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dorel Industries Inc. (TSX: DII.B, DII.A) today announced that its Dorel Home segment has acquired the assets and operations of UK-based Alphason.  Established some 30 years ago, Alphason designs and distributes award-winning home office and audio-visual furniture. The Alphason brand is well known in the UK and is sold at several large independent retailers across the country.  The operations will be integrated into Dorel Home’s existing Dorel Home Furnishings Europe entity. The purchase provides Dorel Home with a new base as well as a distribution hub to serve its growing European business. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“Combining Alphason’s quality customer portfolio, their products and customer service with Dorel Home’s innovative, extensive furniture products represents a tremendously exciting opportunity for us, for Alphason’s existing customer base abroad and for potential new customers. We will use this base to expand and to provide strong logistics support with a distribution hub to serve and grow our European business. This tuck-in acquisition is highly strategic, and I am confident it will be welcomed by our customers, including our large North American e-commerce partners, many of whom have been growing in Europe and have been asking Dorel Home to support this growth,” stated Dorel Home President, Norman Braunstein. 

Profile

Dorel Industries Inc. (TSX: DII.B, DII.A) is a global organization, operating three distinct businesses in juvenile products, bicycles and home products. Dorel's strength lies in the diversity, innovation and quality of its products as well as the superiority of its brands. Dorel Juvenile’s powerfully branded products include global brands Maxi-Cosi, Quinny and Tiny Love, complemented by regional brands such as Safety 1st, Bébé Confort, Cosco and Infanti. Dorel Sports brands include Cannondale, Schwinn, GT, Mongoose, Caloi and IronHorse. Dorel Home, with its comprehensive e-commerce platform, markets a wide assortment of domestically produced and imported furniture. Dorel has annual sales of US$2.6 billion and employs approximately 10,000 people in facilities located in twenty-five countries worldwide.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements included in this press release may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Except as may be required by Canadian securities laws, Dorel does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Forward-looking statements, by their very nature, are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties and are based on several assumptions which give rise to the possibility that actual results could differ materially from Dorel’s expectations expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements and that the objectives, plans, strategic priorities and business outlook may not be achieved. As a result, Dorel cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will materialize, or if any of them do, what benefits Dorel will derive from them. Forward-looking statements are provided in this press release for the purpose of giving information about Management’s current expectations and plans and allowing investors and others to get a better understanding of Dorel’s operating environment. However, readers are cautioned that it may not be appropriate to use such forward-looking statements for any other purpose.

Forward-looking statements made in this press release are based on a number of assumptions that Dorel believed were reasonable on the day it made the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Dorel’s expectations expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements include: general economic conditions; changes in product costs and supply channels; foreign currency fluctuations; customer and credit risk, including the concentration of revenues with small number of customers; costs associated with product liability; changes in income tax legislation or the interpretation or application of those rules; the continued ability to develop products and support brand names; changes in the regulatory environment; continued access to capital resources and the related costs of borrowing; changes in assumptions in the valuation of goodwill and other intangible assets; and there being no certainty that Dorel’s current dividend policy will be maintained. These and other risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements are discussed in Dorel’s annual Management Discussion and Analysis and Annual Information Form filed with the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities. The risk factors outlined in the previously-mentioned documents are specifically incorporated herein by reference.

Dorel cautions readers that the risks described above are not the only ones that could impact it. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to Dorel or that Dorel currently deems to be immaterial may also have a material adverse effect on Dorel’s business, financial condition or results of operations. Given these risks and uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results.

CONTACTS:

MaisonBrison Communications

Rick Leckner

(514) 731-0000

Dorel Industries Inc.

Jeffrey Schwartz

(514) 934-3034