News

Bordentown, NJ — The first quarter 2008 SMS/TIA industry survey’s for racquets, string and footwear returned some positive news for Prince in all categories.

According to the report, and based on the continued demand for racquets with O3 technology, Prince saw a market share increase over the quarter and claimed seven of the top fifteen best-selling racquets in the industry — two more models than the next nearest brand. Those racquets are:

In addition, Prince has more than one-third of the top thirty best selling racquets in tennis and four of the top ten “Hot New Racquets”** — again, more than any other brand. Those “Hot New Racquets” are:

According to Prince Sports, Inc. Chairman and CEO George Napier, “We have good news to share this quarter according to SMS audit information and based on what we are seeing around the world. Globally, our revenue increased five percent year-to-date and April registered twenty-two percent growth, with all regions contributing equally. We are encouraged heading into the heart of the tennis season and look forward to introducing our new products in weeks to come.”

Other key findings from the Q1 survey showed:

“In addition to the growing popularity of Prince racquets in store, the presence of O3 continues to grow on both the ATP and WTA tours as well,” said Linda Glassel, Vice President of Sports Marketing for Prince. “Earlier this year, Maria Sharapova won the Australian Open with her O3 White, followed by a remarkable title run from Nikolay Davydenko at the Sony Ericsson Open — often referred to as the ‘Fifth Grand Slam’ by players — with his Ozone Pro Tour. Heading into the French Open later this month, some of the games brightest up and comers, Jelena Jankovic, Sam Querrey, the #1 men’s doubles team, Mike and Bob Bryan, and the #1, #3 and #4 ranked women’s doubles players will all be taking to the court playing racquets with O3 technology.”

String and Footwear:

Information from the SMS/TIA Audit showed that Prince is #1 in tennis string with the highest market share and also has #1 string in the sport, Prince Synthetic Gut with Duraflex.

In footwear, Prince currently has more models (five) in the top fifteen best sellers ranked by year-to-date dollar sales than any other brand. This includes two models in its T Series and two models in its M Series.

The five Prince models in the top 15 are:

The company is looking to increase unit share moving forward with the introduction of its O Series (OV1 and OC1) line this year. Both the OV1 and OC1 are designed specifically to meet the needs of men, women and junior players. In fact, Nikolay Davydenko ushered in the O Series line by wearing the OV1’s en route to his Sony Ericsson title.

For more information on all Prince products, including apparel and accessories, as well as player and program news, log on to princetennis.com.

*The data presented here is based on a racquet retail audit of key pro/specialty and sporting goods stores conducted by Sports Marketing Surveys/Tennis Industry Association.

**The best-selling new racquets that have been launched in the past 12 months