A WORD FROM OUR CHAIRMAN

"Things are getting tougher in the economy in many countries that we operate in either through a subsidiary or distributor. Money is scarce. However, this should not hold us back from the future development of our two main brands - Hi-Tec and Magnum. In the 24 hour news society, the constant restatement of 'doom and gloom' can make many businessmen jittery and, in my experience, disproportionately pessimistic. Clearly we are experiencing some transfer of the credit crunch's impact on banking to the real economy. Inevitably, journalists and the media pounce on this information since it makes a good story.

Here at Hi-Tec, we assess the impact in the financial situation in a much calmer and more measured way. At this point in time, we have not seen any decline in numbers of forward orders. In fact, we currently have as many forward orders as we had in the same period last year. Crucially, this has also been matched by record levels of Magnum contract business.

Our operations in the USA continue to grow very strong and we are about to introduce new technologies in many of our products I urge every employee and customer, therefore, to be optimistic in their outlook for the future and to keep calm and carry on. It's important for our customers to know that when money is scarce, people will have more family holidays close to their homes which has a positive effect on camping, walking, hiking, outdoor clothing, etc. It will even promote family togetherness and this may be a real blessing in disguise. In 2008, hiking was still the fastest growing activity of all sports and we, in the Outdoor business, can only be happy that we are involved in exactly this category where our offer is always true value for honest prices."

Frank van Wezel
Hi-Tec Chairman