USA: Florsheim Appoints Thomas Polke CFO And Executive Vice President

Florsheim Group, Inc (NASDAQ:FLSC), a leading manufacturer and marketer of men's footwear, has named Thomas P. Polke as chief financial officer and executive vice president, it was announced today by Peter P. Corritori, chairman and chief executive officer. Mr Polke previously was with Favorite Brands International, Inc, the nation's fourth largest non-chocolate confectionary company, which he joined in October 1998 and where he was vice president of the firm, sold recently to Nabisco. He previously was chief operating officer of Johnson Products Co, Inc, of Chicago, IL, a division of IVAX Corporation, that was sold in 1998 He was with Johnson for 11 years, including seven years as chief financial officer and two as executive vice president. Mr Polke replaces Richard Anglin, who resigned. "Tom brings a broad financial and operating background in the consumer field to Florsheim, and we are very pleased to have him join our company," said Mr Corritori. "His experience will prove, I am sure, highly valuable as we continue to move Florsheim forward." Florsheim Group Inc designs, markets, manufactures and sources a diverse and extensive range of products for the men's quality footwear market. Florsheim distributes its products worldwide in more than 6,000 department and specialty store locations, and through company-operated specialty and licensed stores. Information contained in this release with respect to the Company's opportunities and prospects is forward-looking. These statements represent the Company's reasonable judgement with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Such factors include materially adverse changes in economic conditions affecting the men's footwear markets served by the Company, delay in the implementation of the Company's programs and lower than expected customer acceptance.