Halfords Regulatory News (HFD)

13 Jul 2005 09:26

Autobacs Seven Co.Ld13 July 2005 (Translation) July 13, 2005 Koichi Sumino Representative Director and Chief Executive Officer AUTOBACS SEVEN CO., LTD. 6-52, Toyosu 5-Chome, Koto-ku, Tokyo Stock Exchange Listings: Tokyo, Osaka, and London Person to Contact: Masaru Fujimura Manager of Corporate Planning, IR and InfoCenter Telephone No.: +81-3-6219-8787 To Whom It May Concern: Announcement of Collaboration Agreement with Halfords Group plc AUTOBACS SEVEN CO., LTD. (''AUTOBACS''; Koichi Sumino, Representative Directorand CEO) whose head office is in Tokyo, Japan and Halfords Group plc(''Halfords''; Ian McLeod, CEO) whose registered office is in Worcestershire,England entered into a collaboration relationship on July 11th, 2005. Thisagreement will allow shared development and learning across common productranges and may result in the commencement of combined sourcing activityinvolving each company. The areas of the collaboration are described below. AUTOBACS is the number-one retailer in the car parts and accessories market inJapan and has a network of more than 500 stores nationwide. In order to meetevery customer' s car-related needs, it has been broadening the range ofproducts and services from automotive goods retailing to a more comprehensiveautomobile related services, such as car statutory safety inspections,maintenance services, and automobile sales. Halfords is the UK' s leading auto, leisure and cycling products retailer andhas a network of 398 stores nationwide. It sells 11,000 different productlines, ranging from automotive goods such as car stereo systems, wheels, childseats, roof boxes to cycling and outdoor leisure and camping equipment. Collaboration Area 1. Exchange of Best Practice Sharing of information of both companies' successful approach to business andmerchandising. 2. Collaborative Purchasing Combine, where appropriate, both companies buying scale in various commonproduct lines, such as car maintenance and car accessories (Reference) General Information on AUTOBACS SEVEN CO., LTD. (as of March 31, 2005) 1. Trade Name : AUTOBACS SEVEN CO., LTD. 2. Location of Head Office : 6-52, Toyosu 5-chome, Koto-ku, Tokyo 3. Representative : Koichi Sumino, Representative Director and Chief ExecutiveOfficer 4. Incorporation : 1948 5. Capital : 31,958 million yen 6. Net Sales : 226,779 million yen (Consolidated) 7. Number of Employees : 4,023 (Consolidated) 8. Number of Stores : 572 (including franchise stores) 9. Principal Business : Retail of automobile related products and services. Alsoprovides comprehensive automobile related services, such as car statutory safetyinspections, maintenance services, and automobile sales. Includesfranchise-owned stores for AUTOBACS and Super AUTOBACS format. General Information on Halfords Group plc (as of March 31, 2005) 1. Trade Name : Halfords Group plc 2. Location of Head Office : Icknield Street Drive, Redditch, Worcestershire,B98 0DE England 3. Representative : Ian McLeod, Chief Executive Officer 4. Incorporation : 1892 5. Capital : GBP 2.95 million (approximately 590 million yen) 6. Net Sales : GBP 628. 4 million (approximately 125.6 billion yen) 7. Number of Employees : 10,000 8. Number of Stores : 398 9. Principal Business : Retail of automobile related products, leisure andcycling products. Also develops and sells wide range of own brand name items. (end of document) This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange