ECCO Golf Footwear Outperforms Testers' Current Brands

Most Lopsided Victory Ever Tested By Rankmark

TARPON SPRINGS, Florida - Rankmark, the golf-product testing and consumer-feedback company, today announces that its test of golf footwear resulted in ECCO Golf Footwear being preferred by more than 90 percent of golfers over their current brands.

Testers' overwhelming preference of ECCO Golf Footwear represents the most lopsided victory of any golf product surveyed in Rankmark history, says Charles Mandel, Chief Executive Officer of Rankmark. Rankmark conducts independent and objective tests and analysis of golf products, and then reports its findings and data of golfer preferences to the public.

ECCO's golf shoes substantially outperformed other brands in the key categories of "overall performance" and "total score." Many testers gave ECCO double the total score of their current golf shoes. Testers ranked golf shoes in the categories of comfort, abrasion resistance, traction/stability, breathability, moisture control, styling/fashion, durability and overall performance. ECCO Golf Footwear won each of these categories by wide margins.

Each tester played a minimum of three 18-hole rounds of golf with ECCO Golf Footwear and compared their experiences to those wearing their current golf-shoe brands.

"We discovered that ECCO Golf Footwear is here to stay," says Mandel. "Never before has Rankmark received higher scores than those ECCO golf shoes received. In addition, common write-in feedback about ECCO includes 'outstanding,' 'preferred,' 'exceptional,' and 'the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn.'"

"The Rankmark survey results demonstrates why customers and, therefore, retailers are requesting ECCO golf shoes in substantial volume for their comfort, fashion and other attributes," says Per Aagren, Manager of ECCO Golf Footwear based in ECCO's worldwide headquarters in Denmark. "ECCO Golf Footwear is executing its objective to provide golf shoes that feature the absence of discomfort in line with our 'pleasant-walking' mission to golfers who walk more than four miles each 18-hole round.

The ECCO Golf Footwear division was established by ECCO to offer golfers and retailers access to ECCO's worldwide leadership in "brown shoe" (casual, dress, adventure) comfort and style through its high-performance classic, neo-classic, casual and sport golf-footwear collections for men and women.

Technology features in ECCO golf shoes include extra cushion in the anatomical design of its golf shoes' lining; mid-, out- and in-sole; foot bed; and heel counter. ECCO Golf shoes contain other properties that promote shock absorption, durability, lateral stability and breathability, and use Gore-Tex (R) "Extended Comfort Range" (XCR) membranes for moisture control.

Unlike virtually all its footwear competitors, ECCO creates and manufactures all of its products "from cow to shoe." ECCO golf shoes are the only major golf shoes on the market featuring ultra-soft, high-grade leather, extra cushion, and a direct-injected, anatomically-correct PU mid-sole. The results: ECCO golf shoes are flexible in concert with movements of the golf swing, they do not crack, and are soft on the feet.

ECCO Golf Footwear is previewing its 2003 collection of golf shoes that include 23 men's and women's styles, all fashion trend-setting, ranging from classic to neo-classic, casual and sport models. Some styles contain European flair and some mirror Friday-casual shoes. All ECCO golf shoes optimize traction from SoftSpikes (R) plastic cleats. ECCO golf shoes MSRP start at $299.

About Rankmark

The Tarpon Springs, Florida-based Rankmark conducts independent and objective tests and analysis of golf products. It then reports its findings and data of golfer preferences to the public. Rankmark is commonly referred to as the "Consumer Reports of the golf industry" and issues its highly regarded "Best of the Best" golf-product awards annually. For more information about Rankmark, visit www.rankmark.com.

About ECCO

ECCO Sko A/S is an international group founded in 1963 by Karl Toosbuy in Denmark. Today, ECCO is a global player in the footwear industry, with direct subsidiaries in Europe, the Far East and North America, and partners all over the world. ECCO has 9,000 employees worldwide. ECCO USA, Inc. is based in Londonderry, New Hampshire. For more information, visit www.ecco.com.

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