Amer Group Plc builds for the future - new marketing name and logo introduced

In line with its new strategic goals, Amer Group is launching a new name, Amer Sports, combined with a new logo, to be used for corporate marketing and advertising purposes. The new logo will be taken into use progressively. The official name of the company will remain unchanged.

Amer Group's target is to become the world's leading supplier of sporting goods equipment within three to four years. To achieve this objective, Amer Group has decided to enhance the profile of its name and its brands worldwide.

Corporate culture reformed, strategy unchanged

"We are building a new Amer and reforming our corporate culture, although our basic strategy will remain unchanged", says Amer Group's President & CEO Roger Talermo. The company's target is to be a sporting goods equipment supplier with well known global brands. It is the company's objective to be a specialist in all its different sports, to be able to offer game improvement products for active sports participants. At the same time Amer is offering a wide portfolio of sports to the trade making it a major full-year full-service player in the international sporting goods market.

"Our objective is, however, not only to enhance our external image, but also and particularly, to create internal team spirit and corporate solidarity. Our objective is to make the global organization to work for common values in the same way throughout the world", Mr Talermo says.

New logo and sailing race as communications tools

In building its new image, the company will use the new marketing name Amer Sports as a concrete communications tool to transmit directly its core business message and its strong commitment to sporting goods. Another tool is the year round sailing project, The Volvo Ocean Race, which will be used to raise Amer's profile and the recognition of its brands throughout the world.

Mr Talermo emphasizes that The Volvo Ocean Race is simply a tool by which the company will carry its strategy forward and communicate it both internally and externally. The sailing race is a global event which will require dedicated teamwork and offers considerable and valuable publicity opportunities.

Amer will also benefit from its extensive presence in all its principal markets when leveraging the publicity of the sailing race. Says Mr. Talermo: "The ambition of Amer Sports as an organization is to serve our customers and business partners better than ever. The task of management is to ensure that the company is strongly driven; we must avoid doing things the same way as in the past or the same way as others do."

The names of the boats will carry Amer and its brands

Amer will have three boats participating in The Volvo Ocean Race. The first two are named Amer Sports One and Amer Sports Too to reflect the new marketing name. The third boat, Amer Sports, will be used for PR purposes. In addition to the Amer Sports logo, the boats will also prominently display the Wilson, Atomic and Suunto brands.

The official name of the company will remain unchanged

The Group's official name will remain unchanged (Amer Group Plc/Amer-yhtymä Oyj). All Amer's sporting goods units will begin to use the marketing name Amer Sports on various occasions where and when appropriate. The new logo will be taken into use progressively. The new marketing logo for Amer was designed by advertising agency Paltemaa Huttunen Santala TBWA Oy of Helsinki, Finland.

AMER GROUP PLC
Communications

Marja-Leena Simola
Vice President, COmmunications
Tel. +358 9 7257 8306
Fax +358 9 791 385
e-mail: marja-leena.simola@amer.fi
www.amer.fi

For further information, please contact:
Mr Roger Talermo, President & CEO, tel. +358 9 7257 8210
Mr Pekka Paalanne, Senior Vice President & CFO, tel. +358 9 7257 8212

For digital new logo, please contact:
Ms Tea Saari, Communications Manager,
tel: +358 9 7257 8218/+358 40 529 0409
e-mail: tea.saari@amer.fi