Anne Wiper Joins SmartWool, Will Manage New Design Center in Boulder

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, CO – (April 5, 2006) – SmartWool, the Steamboat Springs, Colorado-based manufacturer of high-quality, versatile merino wool products, is pleased to announce the addition of Anne Wiper as their new VP and General Merchandising Manager. Ms. Wiper was formerly the Footwear Merchandise Director for Pearl Izumi, and a Vice President at Salomon where she managed the Salomon Design Center in Boulder, CO.

“We are delighted to add such seasoned talent as Anne to our team,” said SmartWool President Chip Coe. “Anne’s passion for the outdoors and drive to identify, create and sell better products through diverse channels will work perfectly in tandem with SmartWool’s efforts to grow our business without growing our impact.”

Ms. Wiper joins SmartWool with almost 20 years of management, merchandising and development experience. She has worked with internationally recognized companies such as Nike and Nike ACG, Salomon and Pearl Izumi. Her experience at Pearl Izumi included responsibility for business plans and strategies that helped grow the footwear account base globally by 400% in 2004.

“I am so excited about working with SmartWool,” said Wiper. “I think the brand has such incredible potential and it seems like a great time to be joining the company. There is nothing in the world I enjoy more than making great product and building businesses, other than my family and snowboarding.” Ms. Wiper continued.

Under the supervision of Ms. Wiper, SmartWool will establish a design center in Boulder, CO. “Plans for a Boulder based design center have been under consideration for some time, and the hiring of Anne has moved the timeline up,” said Chip Coe. “We feel that establishing a design center in such a famously creative outdoor environment will allow us to tap into a pool of talent which further complements our current design team that has grown SmartWool into the company it is today.”

SmartWool is the leading performance brand of wool-based apparel, socks and accessories. Nothing can compare to SmartWool for the ultimate in performance, comfort and easy care. SmartWool is superior at vaporizing moisture, controlling temperature and odor and is guaranteed not to shrink. It’s also a renewable resource that illustrates the design genius of evolution. For information on the full range of SmartWool products or to find a dealer near you, please log onto SmartWool’s award winning website: www.smartwool.com or contact Alli Noland, Stanwood & Partners PR, 307-733-1514 or anoland@wyoming.com.