BOCA RATON, Fla., July 23, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Q.E.P. Co., Inc. (Nasdaq:QEPC) today announced that the People's Republic of China has provided the Company with final approval to establish a wholly-owned subsidiary in Shanghai. Operating under the name Harmony Depot, Q.E.P. is now licensed to purchase and market a broad range of goods for distribution into the Chinese domestic and export markets.
Over the past two years, Q.E.P. has been expanding its presence in Shanghai with the objective of supporting its operations in sourcing more cost-effective products for our customers throughout the world. Lewis Gould, Q.E.P.'s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "The approval of Harmony Depot is an important milestone in expanding our worldwide market and is a natural extension of our Shanghai operations. We will now be capable of further enhancing the value of services and products to our existing customers and of being a direct player in the rapidly growing Chinese market."
Q.E.P. Co., Inc., founded in 1979, is a leading manufacturer, marketer and distributor of a broad line of flooring tools and accessories for the home improvement market. Under brand names including QEP(r), ROBERTS(r), Capitol(r), Vitrex(r) and Elastiment, the Company markets over 3,000 specialty tools and flooring related products used primarily for surface preparation and installation of ceramic tile, carpet, vinyl and wood flooring. The Company sells its products to home improvement retail centers and specialty distribution outlets in 50 states and around the world.
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements, which are made pursuant to the safe-harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements relating to enhancing the value of services and products and relating to enhancing the value of our position in the Chinese market are made only as of the date of this report and are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements and from historical results of operations. Among the risks and uncertainties that could cause such a difference are our assumptions relating to the expected growth in sales of our products, the continued success of our manufacturing processes, continued increases in the cost of raw materials and finished goods, improvements in productivity and cost reductions, the continued success of initiatives with certain of our customers, the success of our price increases initiatives, the success of our sales and marketing efforts and other business, economic and political factors. A more detailed discussion of risks attendant to the forward-looking statements included in this press release are set forth in the "Forward-Looking Statements" section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended February 28, 2007, filed with the SEC, and in other reports already filed with the SEC.