Bally Total Fitness Selects Global Sports to Create Online Sports Store for Four Million Bally Members
GLOBAL SPORTS, INC. (NASDAQ: GSPT), a leading developer and operator of e-commerce businesses, today announced an agreement with BALLY TOTAL FITNESS (NYSE: BFT), the nation’s leading fitness chain, to develop and operate a comprehensive e-commerce sports and fitness store for Bally’s four million members.
The new online sports and fitness store is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2001 and will feature a comprehensive selection of fitness-related merchandise, including apparel, footwear, fitness and sports accessories, exercise equipment, and health and nutritional supplements. The online store represents an expansion of Bally Total Fitness’ current Fitness Formula(SM) retail business into a new distribution channel.
Global Sports will develop and operate the online store and will be responsible for all facets of the store, including Web site design and development, merchandising, order processing, fulfillment, inventory, and customer service.
Bally Total Fitness will be promoting the new online sports and fitness store through its off-line marketing efforts, including advertising, promotions, in-store signage, and direct mail campaigns.
Bally Total Fitness is the largest commercial operator of fitness centers in North America. The clubs operated by Bally Total Fitness serve approximately four million members. Bally signs up approximately 800,000 new members each year and the company’s advertising generates more than 150 million consumer impressions each month.
Paul Toback, Bally Total Fitness’ senior vice president, corporate development, expressed enthusiasm for the new agreement, noting that, “Our relationship with Global Sports should benefit us in several important ways. First, it opens a new avenue for extending the reach of our brand. Additionally, this agreement greatly improves the e-commerce capacity of our Web site, www.ballyfitness.com. And finally,” Toback concluded, “in addition to making our proprietary line of nutritional and other exercise products available to a much wider public, our relationship with Global Sports will also provide a valuable membership enhancement for our current members.”
“Bally Total Fitness marks a newly-established additional growth opportunity for Global Sports,” said Michael G. Rubin, Chairman and CEO of Global Sports. “In addition to our current partnership base of brick and mortar retailers, Internet companies, and media companies, Global Sports has extended our reach to include the leading fitness chain which has approximately four million members, representing an important new audience to which we can market sports and fitness merchandise.”
About Bally Total Fitness
Bally Total Fitness is the largest commercial operator of fitness centers in North America, with approximately 4 million members and more than 385 facilities located in 27 states and Canada. Bally operates fitness centers under the Bally Total Fitness., Bally Sports Clubs(SM), The Sports Clubs of Canada(TM), Pinnacle Fitness., and Gorilla Sports(SM) brands. With more than 120 million annual member visits to its fitness centers, Bally is a unique platform for distribution of a wide range of products and services targeted to active, fitness-conscious adult consumers. In addition to Global Sports, Bally’s co-marketing partners include Eastman Kodak, Household Bank, Kellogg’s, MBNA America, Pepsi-Cola Company, Procter & Gamble, Sprint, and Time Warner.
About Global Sports
Global Sports, Inc. (NASDAQ: GSPT) (www.globalsports.com) is a leading developer and operator of e-commerce businesses. Global Sports develops and operates the e-commerce sporting goods businesses of specialty retailers, general merchandisers, Internet companies, and media companies under exclusive long-term agreements. The Company operates the e-commerce sporting goods businesses of www.bluelight.com—the exclusive e-commerce partner for Kmart, www.broadbandsports.com and www.athletesdirect.com, www.buy.com, www.dunhamssports.com, store.foxsports.com, www.mcsports.com, www.oshmans.com, www.sportchalet.com, www.theathletesfoot.com, www.thesportsauthority.com, and store.webmd.com.
Statements about Global Sports’ outlook and all other statements in this release other than historical facts are forward-looking statements. Since these statements involve risks and uncertainties, they are subject to change at any time and Global Sports’ actual results may differ materially from expected results. Many Global Sports’ forward-looking statements are based upon certain assumptions, and there are inherent difficulties in predicting certain important factors that could impact these assumptions. These factors, as and when applicable, are discussed in Global Sports’ filings with the SEC.
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Contact:
Global Sports Contact:
Dana Stein Grosser
Director of Corporate Communications
(610) 491-7000
grosserd@globalsports.com
Bally Total Fitness Contact:
Dave Southern
Vice President, Public and Investor Relations
(773) 399-7611
dsouthern@ballyfitness.com
