Horizon Partners with World-Leading Innovation Strategy Firm

Media Contact:
Brian Meehan
W: 262.789.7630, ext. 133
C: 414.339.8551
E: brianm@celticinc.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Horizon Partners with World-Leading Innovation Strategy Firm

COTTAGE GROVE, Wis. (March 22, 2007) – Horizon Fitness, a leading manufacturer of fitness equipment, has partnered with Doblin, Inc., Chicago, a world-renowned innovation strategy firm. Doblin will be working with Horizon Fitness to evaluate and enhance the company’s internal innovation process. The relationship will explore all areas of the business, including product design, customer experience, channel management, business modeling and process.

“Successful companies see the value of innovation opportunities in areas other than product development,” said Larry Keeley, co-founder of Doblin and a recognized expert on the topic of innovation. “When innovation permeates all areas of your business, it significantly increases the chance of developing something that’s truly unique and relevant to customers. It also makes it more difficult for competitors to copy.”

In just eight short years, Horizon Fitness has risen to become one of the country’s leading brands in home fitness equipment. The company has experienced a 60 percent compounded annual growth in sales over the past four years. Company leaders and industry insiders attribute Horizon’s rapid ascension in the fitness category to the company’s commitment to innovation.

Bob Whip, president of Horizon Fitness explains, “A key factor of our growth can certainly be attributed to product development, but it doesn’t end there. We’ve spent a great deal of resources trying to innovate all aspects of our business. By doing so, we not only develop great products – we develop lasting relationships with retailers and consumers.”

Doblin will work with Horizon Fitness to accelerate the company’s innovation process, as well as provide the infrastructure to make innovation repeatable and measurable. The ongoing process will help to strengthen the company’s leadership position in the fitness equipment category.

Doblin is a 26-year old consulting firm that helps companies grow by becoming more effective innovators. Doblin works with some of the world’s most recognized brands. The company is led by Larry Keeley, a lecturer in innovation at Kellogg Graduate School of Management and the University of Chicago. He also conducts executive education programs nationwide. Keeley serves on the board for the Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology, where he is also an adjunct professor teaching graduate design strategy classes. He is author of “The Taming of the New,” a guide to the new disciplines of innovation to be published soon.

Horizon Fitness is a subsidiary of Johnson Health Tech. Co., Ltd., the fourth largest fitness equipment manufacturer in the world. Horizon Fitness differentiates itself in the marketplace by designing and manufacturing fitness equipment that is durable, easy-to-use and provides peak performance for maximum value. For more information about Horizon Fitness, go to HorizonFitness.com or call
1-800-244-4192.

# # #