EXHIBIT 99
K-TEL INTERNATIONAL, INC., MINNEAPOLIS
Company Contact: Investor Relations Contact:
Mr. A. Merrill Ayers Ms. Laurel Moody
Chief Financial Officer Chief Executive Officer
2605 Fernbrook Lane North One Chase Plaza, 58th Floor
Minneapolis, MN 55447 New York, NY 10005
K-tel International Vision Corporate Consulting
Tel: 763-559-6800 Tel: 212-509-4565
mayers@k-tel.com ktel@visioncc.net
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K-TEL INTERNATIONAL ANNOUNCES CLOSING OF U.K. CONSUMER PRODUCTS SUBSIDIARY
Minneapolis, MN - November 14, 2000 - K-tel International, Inc. (OTCBB:KTEL)
announced today that it has initiated the closing of its United Kingdom
subsidiary, K-tel Marketing Limited.
K-tel Marketing Limited has engaged in the marketing of consumer products in
Europe. K-tel Marketing contributed to approximately one-third of K-tel
International's sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2001 and, together with
K-tel's German subsidiary whose operations were discontinued earlier this year,
accounted for approximately $28 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2000.
The closing of K-tel Marketing Limited does not affect the operations of K-tel
Entertainment (U.K.) Ltd., through which the Company will continue to sell its
music products throughout the United Kingdom and Europe.
Commented Philip Kives, Chairman and CEO of K-tel, "Closing the operations of
K-tel Marketing is a part of K-tel's strategic plan to eliminate unprofitable
operations and streamline the company. We have now discontinued the sales of
consumer products through subsidiaries in Germany and the U.K. which primarily
utilized direct response TV advertising. This will enable us to focus our
resources on music and entertainment products worldwide including the expansion
of our European music operations."
About K-tel International
K-tel International is a vertically integrated developer, marketer, and
distributor of music and entertainment products worldwide. The Company markets
its product lines through the Internet (http://www.ktel.com), and to retailers,
wholesalers, distributors, or licensees throughout the world. Ktel.com features
music titles, custom CDs and digital downloads. For more information on K-tel,
or to sign up for the Company's email list, please contact us at
ktel@visioncc.net.
Information in this news release of a non-historical nature relates to future
events and results of the Company (including certain projections and business
trends) that are "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The use of terminology such as
"believe," "may," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "plan," other variations
thereof or comparable terminology may identify such forward-looking statements.
Actual results and performance may differ materially from expressed forward
looking statements because of certain risks and uncertainties, including but not
limited to, changes in political and economic conditions, demand for and market
acceptance of new and existing products, the impact from competition for
Internet content, merchandise and recorded music, dependence on strategic
alliance partners, suppliers and distributors, market acceptance of the Internet
for commerce and as a medium for advertising, technological changes and
difficulties, availability of financing and other risks discussed in the
Company's 10-K report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2000 filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to
publicly release the result of any revisions to these forward-looking
statements.