DGAP-News: FAST Casualwear AG / Key word(s): Strategic Company Decision FAST Casualwear plans to enter the online shopping business 13.01.2014 / 09:36 --------------------------------------------------------------------- FAST Casualwear plans to enter the online shopping business Hamburg, January 13, 2014 - FAST Casualwear AG, a manufacturer of casual footwear and apparel in China, plans to expand the distribution of its products to popular Chinese online shopping platforms in order to strengthen the sales of its FAST branded products. For the new online sales of its products under the company-own label FAST, FAST Casualwear has chosen several well-known Chinese online platforms like TAOBAO (www.taobao.com), TMALL (www.tmall.com), JD (www.jd.com), PAIPAI (www.paipai.com) and VIPSHOP (www.vipshop.com) but also AMAZON (www.amazon.com), the biggest online shopping platform worldwide. FAST has been aggressively developing new sales models and intends to expand its sales activities to different retail channels. By establishing online sales platforms, the company will not only enter a new distribution channel for FAST products to enhance sales for future growth. FAST will also develop an integrated online to offline operations model. Thus, in the future FAST will be able to offer its customers a synchronized online and offline shopping experience. The combined online and offline distribution permits FAST to achieve an integrated sales promotion and to organize interactive events, thereby creating an organised multi-dimensional online shopping model. To support FAST's online marketing business activities and to accelerate the further development of its online sales, the company intends to authorise a renowned e-commerce operator to benefit from its extensive online marketing experience, e-commerce business network, its large customer base and competent management team. 'With a compound annual growth rate over 30 per cent, online shopping sales have significantly increased in China during the past few years. FAST wants to take advantage of the opportunity arising from the rapidly growing number of online consumers. We expect to enhance our brand and product awareness by being present in online shopping platforms. And we hope the FAST brand will rapidly achieve nationwide market coverage', says Wing Chi Chong, CEO of FAST Casualwear. About FAST Casualwear AG FAST Casualwear AG is the German holding company of FAST Group, a Chinese group of companies engaged in the design, production and sale of casualwear, consisting of footwear and apparel including accessories. It mainly designs and produces casualwear under its own brand name 'FAST', targeting consumers aged between 16 and 35 primarily in the lower tier cities in China. FAST distributes its own brand products through 28 unaffiliated regional distributors, who sell the products via retail outlets operated either by themselves or by third party sub-distributors. Its distribution network consists of 960 retail outlets in over 100 cities throughout China. FAST also designs and produces footwear as contract manufacturer for international brand owners, mainly from Europe and the U.S. FAST's operating facilities are located in the southeast of China in Jinjiang City, Fujian Province, one of the largest footwear manufacturing hubs in China. Currently 980 employees work for the FAST Group. For further information please visit www.fast-casualwear.com or contact Kirchhoff Consult AG Dr. Kay Baden Tel: +49 (0)40 609 186 39 E-mail: [email protected] Disclaimer concerning prognoses This communication contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts instead they reflect FAST Casualwear's current views and expectations and the assumptions underlying them about future events. Forward-looking statements are subject to many risks and uncertainties. If any of such risks and uncertainties materialise or if the assumptions underlying any of FAST Casualwear's forward-looking statements are proving to be incorrect, FAST Casualwear's actual results may be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. FAST Casualwear does not intend or assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made. End of Corporate News --------------------------------------------------------------------- 13.01.2014 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. DGAP's Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de --------------------------------------------------------------------- Language: English Company: FAST Casualwear AG c/o Kirchhoff Consult AG, Herrengraben 1 20459 Hamburg Germany Phone: 040 60 91 86 0 Fax: 040 60 91 86 60 E-mail: [email protected] Internet: www.fast-casualwear.com ISIN: DE000A1PHFG5 WKN: A1PHFG Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard) End of News DGAP News-Service --------------------------------------------------------------------- 247651 13.01.2014