Posted: December 10, 2007

Athletics: New Balance Acquires Vital Apparel

BOSTON, December 10, 2007 – New Balance announced today that it has acquired the Vital Apparel Group, one of the leading active apparel companies in the United States, based in New York. “Our acquisition of Vital gives us significant opportunities to accelerate the growth of New Balance apparel,” says Rob DeMartini, CEO at New Balance. “We take our responsibility to drive category growth for our retailer’s athletic apparel business very seriously. The New Balance brand can drive incremental sales for our customers and Vital’s leadership and expertise in the sporting goods channel complements both team’s core competencies in product innovation and customer service.” "The Vital team is excited to have the opportunity to apply our capabilities and experience to help grow New Balance,” says Kerry Kligerman, president of Vital. “New Balance is one of the strongest global brands in the athletic industry and has unlimited possibilities in apparel.” In June of this year, Vital signed an apparel license licensee agreement with New Balance-owned Warrior to design and develop Warrior branded apparel as well as introduce new and innovative materials and designs. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Huntington Station, NY, Vital Apparel Group includes Vital Apparel, a leading women's active brand; Vital Accessories, which includes the license for Soffe Accessories; and the Vital Performance division which includes InSport. Vital Apparel Group is owned and operated by Chris Rosen and Kerry Kligerman. New Balance, headquartered in Boston, MA has the following mission: Demonstrating responsible leadership, we build global brands that athletes are proud to wear, associates are proud to create and communities are proud to host. New Balance employs more than 2,800 people around the globe, and in 2006 reported worldwide sales of $1.55 billion. For more information please visit www.newbalance.com. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest