Exit Rumours Greatly Exaggerated

Exit Rumours Greatly Exaggerated

Auckland, September 5, 2000 -- Investor Eric Watson today said that any rumours of his exit from leading New Zealand Internet e-tailer, FlyingPig, as suggested in yesterday’s New Zealand Herald, were greatly exaggerated.

“I have every confidence in FlyingPig’s performance and prospects,” said Watson. “Revenues are ahead of target, customer numbers are growing and costs have been scaled down to very manageable levels. We expect the business to break even in 18 months to 2 years.

“Internet retail is here to stay. FlyingPig is the number one Internet retailer in New Zealand and a clear leader in the number one e-tail category. That’s a great position if you’re committed to the retail industry. Like any growing business it requires investment. We will continue to support the growth of FlyingPig and are assisting with a round of capital raising to further that.

“Any decisions on future investment by existing shareholders, including Advantage, Pacific Retail Group and Whitcoulls, will be made by the boards of those companies, but in my opinion, FlyingPig fits very well with retailer, Pacific Retail Group,” he said.

ENDS

For further information please contact:

Allan Botica, 09 303 3862, 021 402 502, allanb@bca.co.nz

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