THOROFARE, N.J.--(Business Wire)--Checkpoint Systems, Inc. (NYSE: CKP), a leading manufacturer and
marketer of identification, tracking, security and merchandising
solutions for the retail industry and its supply chain, announced
today that the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors on
December 27, 2007 made an inducement grant of non-qualified stock
options exercisable for 270,000 shares of the Company's common stock
to Robert van der Merwe, the Company's newly appointed President and
Chief Executive Officer.
The inducement grant is in addition to options to purchase 230,000
shares of the Company's common stock, as well as 20,000 restricted
stock units, granted under the Company's 2004 Omnibus Incentive
Compensation Plan. All of the stock options have an exercise price of
$22.71 per share, the last sales price of the Company's common stock
on the date of grant, December 27, 2007, when Mr. van der Merwe was
appointed as the Company's new President and Chief Executive Officer.
Mr. van der Merwe has been a member of the Company's Board of
Directors since October 25, 2007 and will continue to serve on the
Company's Board of Directors in his new position as the Company's
President and Chief Executive Officer. Since April 2005, Mr. van der
Merwe served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Paxar
Corporation, a global leader in providing innovative merchandising
systems to retailers and apparel customers. He became Chairman of the
Board of Paxar in January 2007 and served in these capacities until
Paxar's sale to Avery Dennison in June 2007. Prior to joining Paxar,
Mr. van der Merwe held numerous executive positions with
Kimberly-Clark Corporation from 1980 to 1987 and from 1994 to 2005,
including the positions of Group President of Kimberly-Clark's global
consumer tissue business and Group President of Europe, Middle East
and Africa. Earlier in his career, Mr. van der Merwe held managerial
positions in South Africa at Xerox Corporation and Colgate Palmolive.
The terms and conditions of the equity awards, as well as Mr. van
der Merwe's employment agreement and related compensation arrangements
established in connection with his appointment as President and Chief
Executive Officer, are described in the Company's Current Report on
Form 8-K filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Checkpoint Systems, Inc.
Checkpoint Systems, Inc. is the leading supplier of retail shrink
management solutions. Checkpoint's global team helps retailers - and
their suppliers - reduce theft, increase inventory visibility and
provide consumers with greater merchandise availability through the
company's rapidly evolving RF technology, expanding shrink management
offerings and Check-Net labeling solutions. Checkpoint has more than
one million RF devices installed in stores today and has secured more
than 100 billion products. Scaling cost efficiently, Checkpoint's
solutions provide increased revenues and profits to a fast-growing
community of successful retailers and a superior experience for their
consumers. Listed on the NYSE (NYSE:CKP), Checkpoint operates in every
major geographic market and employs 3,700 people worldwide. For more
information, visit www.checkpointsystems.com.
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes information that constitutes
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements often address
our expected future business and financial performance, and often
contain words such as "expect," "forecast," "anticipate," "intend,"
"plan," believe," "seek," or "will." By their nature, forward-looking
statements address matters that are subject to risks and
uncertainties. Any such forward-looking statements may involve risk
and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from any future results encompassed within the forward-looking
statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences
include: changes in our senior management and other matters relating
to implementation of our succession plan; our ability to integrate
recent acquisitions and to achieve related financial and operational
goals; changes in international business conditions; foreign currency
exchange rate and interest rate fluctuations; lower than anticipated
demand by retailers and other customers for our products; slower
commitments of retail customers to chain-wide installations and/or
source tagging adoption or expansion; possible increases in per unit
product manufacturing costs due to less than full utilization of
manufacturing capacity as a result of slowing economic conditions or
other factors; our ability to provide and market innovative and
cost-effective products; the development of new competitive
technologies; our ability to maintain our intellectual property;
competitive pricing pressures causing profit erosion; the availability
and pricing of component parts and raw materials; possible increases
in the payment time for receivables as a result of economic conditions
or other market factors; changes in regulations or standards
applicable to our products; the ability to implement cost reduction in
field service, sales, and general and administrative expense, and our
manufacturing and supply chain operations without significantly
impacting revenue and profits; our ability to maintain effective
internal control over financial reporting; and additional matters
disclosed in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings. We do not
undertake to update our forward-looking statements, except as required
by applicable securities laws.
Checkpoint Systems, Inc.
Raymond Andrews, 856-848-1800
Sr. Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
or
FD
Eric Boyriven, Bob Joyce
212-850-5600
Copyright Business Wire 2007
