Full Press Release Details
NATURAL HEALTH TRENDS CORP.
Robert H. Hesse, Interim Chief Executive Officer 972-241-4080
TRENDS CORP. ANNOUNCES
Company Appoints New Interim CEO and Will Add Independent Directors to
Enhance Corporate Governance
DALLAS, TX, October 6, 2005 - Natural Health Trends Corp., an international direct selling
company (NASDAQ NMS: BHIP), today announced the appointment of Robert H. Hesse, a member
of the Company's Board of Directors and Audit Committee since July 2004, as the Company's
Interim Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Hesse has been an investor and consultant to Natural
Health Trends Corp. since 2001, and has over 35 years of investment banking experience.
Natural Health Trends Corp. evolve in the past 4 years from a small direct
selling business in North America, to a multinational organization doing
business in over 30 countries, with revenues in excess of $92 million in the
first half of this year. In order to help the Company achieve its vision, the
Board of Directors has asked me to play a more active role in management and
enhance our corporate governance focus, while also concentrating our Company
resources on our largest growth opportunities: expanding our Lexxus business in
Mexico, Japan and China. With these objectives in mind, we have formed an Office
of the Chief Executive made up of Richard S. Johnson, President of Natural
Health Trends Japan, Chris Sharng, the Company s Chief Financial
Officer, and myself. Both Dick and Chris have been the President and
Representative Officer and Vice President of Finance, respectively, of
multi-billion dollar organizations. The experience and dedication of these two
seasoned professionals, will serve me well in guiding Natural Health Trends
Corp. to attain these goals, stated Mr. Hesse.
In addition, effective
October 3, 2005, each of Mark D. Woodburn, the Company s President, and
Terry L. LaCore, the Chief Executive Officer of the Company s Lexxus
International, Inc. subsidiary, will no longer serve as officers of the Company
due to their failure to cooperate with an ongoing investigation conducted by the
Company s Audit Committee. Although each of Messrs. Woodburn and LaCore
have resigned as members of the Company s Board of Directors effective
October 3, 2005, they will continue to be employed as the Company s Global
Managing Director Operations and Global Managing Director Business
Development, respectively.
devoting my full time and attention to making Natural Health Trends Corp.
successful and I know that Mark Woodburn and Terry LaCore look forward to
concentrating their efforts on working with our expanding network of independent
distributors, commented Mr. Hesse.
Mr. Hesse is formerly president of the Dorchester Group Inc., a venture banking firm
founded in 1992. He was president of Swartwood, Hesse Inc. from 1981-1992. Mr. Hesse, 62,
has been involved in the management and boards of directors of several private and public
companies and holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy.
Natural Health Trends Corp.
is an international direct-selling company operating in more than 30 markets
throughout Asia, North America, Eastern Europe and Latin America. The Company
markets premium quality personal care products under the Lexxus brand and
markets its nutritional supplement products under the Kaire brand. Additional
information can be found on the Company's website, and management encourages
interested parties to register for updated corporate information via e-mail on
the Company's homepage, www.naturalhealthtrendscorp.com.
Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 --
Forward-looking statements in this release do not constitute guarantees
of future performance. Such forward-looking statements are subject to
risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ
materially from those anticipated. Such statements may relate, among
other things, to our relationship with our distributors; our need to
continually recruit new distributors; our internal controls and accounting
methods that may require further modification; regulatory matters governing
our products and network marketing system; our ability to recruit and
maintain key management; adverse publicity associated with our products
or direct selling organizations; product liability claims; our reliance
on outside manufacturers; risks associated with operating
internationally, including foreign exchange risks; product concentration;
dependence on increased penetration of existing markets; the competitive
nature of our business; and our ability to generate sufficient cash to
operate and expand our business. For a more detailed discussion of the
risks and uncertainties of our business, please refer to our Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004 filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. We assume no obligation to update
any forward-looking information contained in this press release or with
respect to the announcements described herein.