RACING CHAMPIONS ERTL ANNOUNCES THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS
MASTER TOY & COLLECTIBLES LICENSE
Glen Ellyn, Ill. (August 6, 2002)-Racing Champions Ertl
(NASDAQ: RACN), announced today that the company has entered into
a multi-year master toy and collectibles license agreement with
Universal Studios Consumer Products Group. The agreement includes
Universal Pictures' highly successful The Fast and the Furious
movie released in 2001, the NOPI The Fast and the Furious
Racing Series and the upcoming The Fast and the Furious 2,
scheduled for release in summer 2003, in which Paul Walker will
reprise his role opposite Tyrese (Baby Boy), under the direction
of John Singleton.
A full line of The Fast and the Furious toy, collectible
and hobby products will be produced by Racing Champions Ertl and
is scheduled to reach the retail market in late 2002 with additional
product introductions planned for 2003. Racing Champions Ertl plans
to build The Fast and the Furious brand into a stand-alone
category and pursue sales and promotional opportunities in all of
their existing channels in addition to new specialty retail outlets
such as automotive, music and video retail chains.
Peter Henseler, President of Racing Champions Ertl, stated, "As
we track the passions of consumers, it is apparent that The Fast
and the Furious brand captures the emerging multi-cultural lifestyle
trend associated with customizing and racing import and domestic
automobiles. The size and scope of this market can be seen in the
growth of the automotive aftermarket for parts related to The
Fast and the Furious styled compact cars. Retail sales in 2002
for compact performance car aftermarket parts is forecasted to grow
by 48% to $2.2 billion."
Henseler continued, "It's no surprise that today's boy, teen
and young adult males have the same passion for customizing cars
that their fathers and grandfathers did back in the 50's, 60's,
and 70's. What is surprising is the interest in custom cars and
The Fast and the Furious lifestyle among a wide variety of
ethnic groups and across genders. The Fast and the Furious
brand will give us the opportunity to market collectibles and toys
that are natural extensions of the movie and the lifestyle to diverse
and expanded demographic groups."
"We are very proud and excited to be working with Racing Champions
Ertl on The Fast and the Furious franchise," said Tim
Rothwell, vice president of marketing and merchandising, Universal
Studios Consumer Products Group. "We selected Racing Champions
Ertl because of their outstanding product quality and commitment
to develop The Fast and the Furious as the premiere brand
in the sports compact car category."
About the Film The Fast and The Furious, which grossed $145 million at the
domestic box office was the first film to explore the underground
import car street-racing phenomenon that is currently sweeping the
nation. In addition to its box office success, the film showed even
more muscle during the holiday season, as the home video and DVD
flew off retailers' shelves, becoming the number one selling DVD
of 2001 with over 5.5 million units* (*per Video Scan) sold to date.
The Fast and the Furious is a fierce and frenzied look at
the multi-cultural mix of young men and women who use high performance
vehicles to establish power and define turf in L.A.'s street racing
scene. Paul Walker stars as an undercover cop who infiltrates this
world while investigating a series of big-rig hijackings. Vin Diesel
plays the charismatic leader of a racing crew.
The car and motorcycle action sequences depicted in The Fast
and the Furious film are dangerous. All stunts were performed
in controlled environments with professionally-trained stunt crews
on closed roads. No attempts should be made to duplicate any action,
driving or car play scenes portrayed therein.
About the NOPI The Fast and the Furious Racing Series
The NOPI The Fast and the Furious Racing Series, a drag race
series sponsored by Microsoft Xbox™, open to amateur and professional
racers and governed by the NDRA (NOPI Drag Racing Association) is
the newest, innovative racing series that combines the highest payouts
in professional drag racing per event with the largest compact auto
show in the United States.
About Universal Studios Consumer Products Group
Universal Studios Consumer Products Group is a unit of Universal
Pictures, a division of Vivendi UNIVERSAL Entertainment (VUE) (www.universalstudios.com),
the U.S.-based film, television and recreation entity of Vivendi
Universal, a global media and communications company.
About Racing Champions Ertl
Racing Champions Ertl (www.rcertl.com) is a leading producer and
marketer of innovative collectibles and toys targeted at males of
all ages. The Company's diverse product offerings include scaled
die-cast replicas of John Deere agricultural equipment and NASCAR
stock cars, other licensed vehicle replicas, pre-teen toys, sports
trading cards, racing apparel and souvenirs, and collectible figures.
These products are sold under the Company's market-focused brand
names, including Racing Champions®, Ertl®, Ertl Collectibles®,
American Muscle™, AMT®, W. Britain®, Press Pass®,
and JoyRide Studios™. The Company reinforces its brands and
enhances the authenticity of its products by linking them with highly
recognized licensed properties including NASCAR, NHRA, John Deere,
Harley-Davidson, Case IH, Polaris, Honda, Caterpillar, Ford, GM,
Chrysler, Texaco, Universal Studios, Warner Brothers, Gullane Entertainment,
Nintendo, Sega, and Electronic Arts. The Company's products are
marketed through multiple channels of distribution, including mass
retailers and specialty and hobby wholesalers and retailers, OEM
dealers, and to corporate accounts for promotional purposes. The
Company sells through more than 20,000 retail outlets located in
North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.
Certain statements contained in this release contain "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified by the use
of forward-looking words or phrases such as "anticipate,''
"believe,'' "could,'' "expect,'' "intend,''
"may,'' "planned,'' "potential,'' "should,''
"will'' and "would.'' Such forward-looking statements
are inherently subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties.
Such uncertainties and other operational matters are discussed further
in the Company's quarterly and annual filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission. The Company's actual results and future
developments could differ materially from the results or developments
expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. The
Company undertakes no obligation to make any revisions to the forward-looking
statements contained in this release or to update them to reflect
events or circumstances occurring after the date of this release.
