Dorel Announces Intention to Appoint New Members to its Board of Directors


MONTRÉAL, June 18, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dorel Industries Inc. (TSX: DII.B, DII.A) today announced that pursuant to the Company’s management proxy circular, dated May 8, 2019, it is the Board’s intention to appoint one or more independent directors immediately following the Company’s Annual Meeting of Shareholders, to be held June 20, 2019. The two independent Directors to be appointed are Sharon Ranson and Brad Johnson.

Ms. Ranson is a corporate director and entrepreneur with in-depth financial expertise in accounting, capital markets and investments. She has provided strategic oversight to numerous Boards and Advisory Committees, and has chaired various Board committees including audit, governance, risk, human resources and compensation. Among her recent mandates are Sprott Inc. (TSX: SII), Echelon Financial Holdings (TSX: EFH) and the City of Toronto Investment Board. 

Ms. Ranson is also President and Founder of The Ranson Group Inc., a company offering coaching and leadership work with senior executives. She has extensive experience in the Financial Services industry as a top-ranked Financial Services Analyst and Managing Director with RBC Capital Markets, and a senior Portfolio Manager with TAL (CIBC). 

Brad Johnson is currently a Visiting Lecturer at Babson College, a private business school in Massachusetts and global leader in entrepreneurship education.  Previously, he was Vice President, Operations at online furniture retailer, Wayfair, where he developed, launched and managed CastleGate Fulfillment, providing order and inventory management for furniture and décor suppliers. During his tenure he also established Wayfair as a major sales partner at several major on-line retailers.  

Brad has extensive experience and success in starting-up companies and managing businesses in the consumer products and technology industries, with seven years spent internationally. He holds an M.B.A. from University of Virginia Darden School of Business and is a Certified Public Accountant.

“We are delighted to have Sharon and Brad join Dorel as independent directors. Brad’s experience at Wayfair will be extremely beneficial to Dorel as we plan to aggressively grow Juvenile and Sports’ online presence. Wayfair has been an important customer of Dorel Home for many years, which has been a meaningful contributor to Home’s growth. Sharon’s track record in finance and the capital markets is impressive and will bring added insight to our Board. Their combined expertise covers a multitude of specialities and we look forward to benefiting from their knowledge,” stated Martin Schwartz, President and CEO.

Profile

Dorel Industries Inc. (TSX: DII.B, DII.A) is a global organization, operating three distinct businesses in juvenile products, bicycles and home products. Dorel’s strength lies in the diversity, innovation and quality of its products as well as the superiority of its brands. Dorel Juvenile’s powerfully branded products include global brands Maxi-Cosi, Quinny and Tiny Love, complemented by regional brands such as Safety 1st, Bébé Confort, Cosco and Infanti. Dorel Sports brands include Cannondale, Schwinn, GT, Mongoose, Caloi and IronHorse. Dorel Home, with its comprehensive e-commerce platform, markets a wide assortment of domestically produced and imported furniture. Dorel has annual sales of US$2.6 billion and employs approximately 9,200 people in facilities located in twenty-five countries worldwide.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements included in this press release may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Except as may be required by Canadian securities laws, Dorel does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Forward-looking statements, by their very nature, are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties and are based on several assumptions which give rise to the possibility that actual results could differ materially from Dorel’s expectations expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements and that the objectives, plans, strategic priorities and business outlook may not be achieved. As a result, Dorel cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will materialize, or if any of them do, what benefits Dorel will derive from them. Forward-looking statements are provided in this press release for the purpose of giving information about Management’s current expectations and plans and allowing investors and others to get a better understanding of Dorel’s operating environment. However, readers are cautioned that it may not be appropriate to use such forward-looking statements for any other purpose.

Forward-looking statements made in this press release are based on a number of assumptions that Dorel believed were reasonable on the day it made the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Dorel’s expectations expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements include: general economic conditions; changes in product costs and supply channels; foreign currency fluctuations; customer and credit risk, including the concentration of revenues with small number of customers; costs associated with product liability; changes in income tax legislation or the interpretation or application of those rules; the continued ability to develop products and support brand names; changes in the regulatory environment; continued access to capital resources, including compliance with covenants, and the related costs of borrowing; debt refinancing; failure related to information technology systems; changes in assumptions in the valuation of goodwill and other intangible assets and future decline in market capitalization; and there being no certainty that Dorel’s current dividend policy will be maintained. These and other risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements are discussed in Dorel’s annual Management Discussion and Analysis and Annual Information Form filed with the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities. The risk factors outlined in the previously-mentioned documents are specifically incorporated herein by reference.

Dorel cautions readers that the risks described above are not the only ones that could impact it. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to Dorel or that Dorel currently deems to be immaterial may also have a material adverse effect on Dorel’s business, financial condition or results of operations. Given these risks and uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results.

CONTACTS:
MaisonBrison Communications
Rick Leckner
(514) 731-0000

Dorel Industries Inc.
Jeffrey Schwartz
(514) 934-3034