Home » TIMag.com news » Frames » Popularity of New Prince EXO3 Racquet Line Substantiated by Q1 Findings

Popularity of New Prince EXO3 Racquet Line Substantiated by Q1 Findings

*Bordentown, NJ — * According to the most recent TIA/Sports Marketing Surveys Specialty Store Tennis Racquet Retail Audit, the Prince EXO3 Red 105 is the clear #1 “hot new racquet” on the market. In fact, Prince now has six of the top ten “hot new racquets” overall — including four models from the ground-breaking EXO3 series.

In addition, and perhaps more importantly, the Company, has gained market share and is up in both units and dollars from the Fourth Quarter 2008.

“While the economic landscape presents challenges for every brand, we are optimistic about what this report shows and means for our business moving forward,” said John Embree, President of Prince Americas. “Not only has the EXO3 Red 105 achieved status as the #1 hot new racquet, but it has already surged to #5 on the overall best-selling list according to year-to-date dollar sales - this after only being on shelves for 5-6 weeks. In addition, our re-emergence into the true player frame market has been met with open arms and excitement by consumers as the new EXO3 Graphite, EXO3 Rebel 95, and EXO3 Rebel Team 95 are all in the top ten of the hot new racquets list.”

Snapshot of Q1 Results

Prince now has:

• #1 Hot new racquet in tennis - the Prince EXO3 Red 105
• All new EXO3 models are in the top 15 Hot New Racquets - including four in the top ten: EXO3 Red 105 (#1), EXO3 Graphite 100 (#8), EXO3 Rebel Team 95 (#9) and EXO3 Rebel 95 (#10); EXO3 Silver 118 (#13)
• Two of the top 5 Best Selling Racquets Overall (YTD Sales) - O3 Speedport Black (#3) and EXO3 Red 105 (#5)

With the recent introduction of an extensive, easy-to-understand national promotion consumers, will now receive an instant $20 off any new EXO3 performance racquet before June 15. Designed to thank the consumer for growing the sport in the United States and help the retail community drive additional sell through, Prince anticipates this promotion will do both.

“The good news is that people are playing and our products are being received extremely well. Industry trends are showing that tennis participation levels in the US are the highest they have been in more than 15 years. We want to thank players for achieving this goal and continue to foster growth by making it easier and more affordable for them to pick up one of these new racquets,” said Charlie Osborn, VP of National Sales at Prince Sports, Inc. “We launched this initiative on April 15 and have already seen tremendous partnership and excitement from dealers all across the country.”

For more info regarding the EXO3 series of racquets, any other products in the Prince line and the EXO3 $20 Off Promotion, visit www.princetennis.com.

Posted on May 4, 2009
Permalink