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MONTREAL, Canada – At yesterday's annual meeting shareholders were told that Dorel Industries Inc. plans to aggressively develop its bicycle business. The February Cannondale purchase is the first step in the company’s goal to become the world’s number one Independent Bicycle Dealer (IBD) player.

“The purchase of Cannondale and SUGOi immediately establishes huge IBD positioning for Dorel and will help us move toward a dominant worldwide position in the bicycle industry,” said President and CEO, Martin Schwartz the day before yesterday.

“Our intention is to seek further acquisitions in similar high quality, performance bicycle companies and create new innovative products. We sincerely believe that with our strong and respected premium brands we can build our bicycle business into a global force much as we have established our juvenile segment to satisfy consumers worldwide in both the mass merchant and independent boutique channels.”

Backed by extensive resources

In a press release the company further states: “Backed by Dorel’s extensive resources, the Cannondale Sports Group, a newly formed Recreational/Leisure division, is already building on Cannondale’s strengths to grow significantly within the IBD channel. Initial results are highly encouraging. The first quarter this year included two months of Cannondale/SUGOi revenue helped push year-over-year Recreational/Leisure revenue up 55%, while earnings from operations soared 106%. Pacific Cycle was a strong contributor to the quarter as well with robust sales at its mass merchant customers.”

2008 has begun for Dorel with its best quarter ever. Overall for the period ended March 31, 2008, Dorel posted revenue of US$ 556 million and net income of US$ 35.1 million or US$ 1.05 per share.

“Our first quarter performance is proof that Dorel has the right combination of products and price points for consumers at the right time. With the difficult economy in North America, consumers are shopping more at mass merchants where Dorel has traditionally been strong. In Europe, conditions are better. Consumers continue to seek higher-end products at independents and boutiques, and Dorel’s European operations enjoy a solid position in this market. Dorel has the flexibility and product diversity to deal with varying markets,” concluded Schwartz.