Bullfrog International Signs Significant European Distribution Agreement with Lifestyle Product Giant Villeroy & Boch
--Bullfrog International, LC to Bring the World’s only JetPak™-Equipped Portable
Spas to the European Market--
Salt Lake City – October 31, 2005 – Bullfrog International, LC, manufacturer of high-quality portable spas powered by JetPak™ technology, announced today it has signed a multi-year, private label distribution agreement with Villeroy & Boch, European manufacturer of fine commercial and residential lifestyle products. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed. However, this particular agreement marks the largest deal of its kind within the North American portable spa industry.
Villeroy & Boch will sell Bullfrog Spas under the well-established Villeroy & Boch brand label. Villeroy & Boch´s market spans 125 countries and a dealer network comprising several thousand locations. Bullfrog International will retain all design and manufacturing components in its Bluffdale, Utah U.S. headquarters, and does not intend to outsource these operations overseas.
“We´re excited and honored to team with Villeroy & Boch, Europe´s most renowned manufacturer of fine lifestyle products, to bring Bullfrog´s unique technology and quality to a broader European market,” said David Ludlow, Founder and CEO of Bullfrog International. “Bullfrog International has worked diligently to become a leader in the portable spa industry, both domestically and abroad. Villeroy & Boch´s selection of Bullfrog as its wholesale partner validates our growth and success as a leader in the industry.”
“Villeroy & Boch searched diligently for a manufacturer that matched our philosophy of superior quality and design and to help us address the growing demand in Europe for wellness products including spas,” said Dirk Peters, Wellness Division Business Development Manager, Villeroy & Boch. “We chose Bullfrog for its unmatched hydrotherapy technology and unwavering pursuit of quality which will offer us the capability to grow our Wellness category by introducing best-in-class spas to the European market.”
“The agreement between Bullfrog International and Villeroy & Boch highlights a growth trend in U.S. manufacturing quality and technological design that is gaining ground in European markets,” said J. Chris Brimley, Director of International Business, Bullfrog International.
According to industry sources, the European spa and wellness category is growing an estimated three to four times faster than in the United States. Pool & Spa Marketing magazine reports 44,000 hot tubs were sold across Europe in 2003 (compared to 3,500 in 1996).
The Bullfrog Difference
Spas privately labeled by Bullfrog for Villeroy & Boch are to be manufactured with Bullfrog´s exclusive JetPak™ System - the industry’s leading spa jetting technology.
JetPaks™ are modular and removable spa seats that are each equipped with individual jetting designs. With 16 unique JetPaks to choose from, spa buyers, at the time of purchase, can custom design the spa of their dreams by selecting only the JetPaks that best serve their individual hydrotherapy needs.
After the spa purchase, spa users can interchange JetPaks between the seats within the spa so that users of all heights can enjoy the entire array of jetting. In the future, when new JetPak designs are released by Bullfrog, spa owners can simply purchase any of these new JetPaks to upgrade their old spa to one with the latest jetting technologies. Spas built with JetPaks are truly the only upgradeable spas available on the market. The JetPak System offers a variety of other significant technology features, including PowerPlus™, LeakGuard™, and EnergySave™.
PowerPlus technology reduces the amount of plumbing used in conventionally plumbed spas. Traditional spas are built with hundreds of glue joints, long networks of pipe, and dozens of pipe connections buried in foam insulation, restricting water pressure and flow. The JetPak System eliminates up to 90 percent of the pipe and pipe fittings, reducing the number of pipe connections in the plumbing systems. Less pipe and fittings equals less restriction resulting in more water flow. Increased water flow results in the ability to run more jets with increased power.
Bullfrog´s exclusive LeakGuard design provides unmatched security against leaks by fitting jets to the removable JetPaks instead of drilling holes into the spa shell where leaks are most likely to occur. EnergySave technology produces an extremely energy efficient spa. Most of the plumbing is contained on the JetPak, submerged inside the spa - in hot water which transfers any escaping heat in the pipes back into the spa water. This process heats the spa and recycles energy.
About Villeroy & Boch
The Villeroy & Boch group, with its three divisions, Tiles, Bathroom & Wellness and Tableware, achieved gross sales in 2004 totaling 948.6 million Euros ($1.2 B). Founded in 1748, the group makes ceramic wall and floor tiles, sanitary ceramics, bathroom furniture, bathtubs, shower systems, steam cabins, pipe fittings as well as porcelain and glass tableware, cutlery and table accessories in ten European countries. The company views itself as a complete and lifestyle supplier under the customer-oriented marketing concept, My House of Villeroy & Boch. Villeroy & Boch employs approximately 10,000 people worldwide. Villeroy & Boch´s products for its three divisions are produced at 19 plants in 12 European countries. Products bearing the Villeroy & Boch label are marketed in 125 countries throughout the world and are represented by several thousand retail outlets throughout Europe. Villeroy & Boch estimates its Wellness division will span to over 260 Wellness dealers by 2008.
The preference share for Villeroy & Boch AG is officially traded at the Stock Market in Frankfurt/Main, Dusseldorf, Berlin and Hamburg - all Germany - using the securities identification number 765 723/ISIN DE0007657231. The ordinary share with the securities identification number 765 720/DE0007657207 is not listed on the Stock Market.
The Villeroy & Boch share certificate is admitted for the new Prime Standard since the beginning of the year 2002 and is included in the sector Consumer Industry Group Household, Appliances & Houseware. The Villeroy & Boch share is listed in the SDAX index of Deutsche Börse AG.
About Bullfrog International
Founded in 1996, Bullfrog International, LC, is headquartered in the greater Salt Lake City, Utah metro area. Bullfrog designs and manufactures the world’s only hot tubs with JetPaks™ - modular jetted seatbacks, which allow the user to customize, interchange and upgrade their spa’s jetting at anytime. JetPaks are backed by six U.S. patents with other U.S. and foreign patents pending. In addition to JetPaks, Bullfrog spas provide powerful hydrotherapy, are virtually leak-proof, and are extremely energy efficient. Bullfrog International currently distributes, licenses and retails its products in the United States, Canada, Australia, Asia and Europe. Since 2003, Bullfrog International, LC has experienced an average growth rate of more than 43 percent each year. To learn more about the technology and the company, and to order a complimentary Bullfrog Spa DVD, please visit bullfrogspas.com.
