The Middleton Doll Company Names New CEO for Lee Middleton Original Dolls Subsidiary; Outlines Growth Strategies

Business Wire, Jan 22, 2003

Business Editors

PEWAUKEE, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 22, 2003

The Middleton Doll Company (Nasdaq:DOLL) today announced the appointment of Iain Macfarlane as senior vice president of The Middleton Doll Company and chief executive officer of its Lee Middleton Original Dolls subsidiary. He was formerly an executive with the industry-leading Pleasant Company, a subsidiary of Mattel, Inc., and has a successful track record of building customer-focused businesses. Macfarlane has extensive leadership experience as a chief executive officer as well as background in the collectible doll, publishing, toy, advertising and direct marketing industries.

"Iain has the talent and experience to lead our organization as we focus on accelerating the growth of our consumer products segment," said George R. Schonath, president and chief executive officer of The Middleton Doll Company. "His creative marketing background and the experience he gained in working closely with the highly respected Pleasant Rowland, founder of The Pleasant Company, will play a vital role in implementing our growth strategies as we extend our leading position in the collectible doll market into the broader general consumer category through our existing play doll line and the creation of a play baby nursery line."

Commenting on his new leadership role at Lee Middleton Original Dolls, Macfarlane indicated he believes Lee Middleton's leading position in the collectible doll market is an ideal platform for aggressively launching a successful high volume doll line. "Lee Middleton is well known for producing the top quality product in the collectible doll market and the dolls are well recognized for having the most beautiful faces in the industry as well as the best quality outfits," Macfarlane said. "We believe that we can successfully translate our leadership position and reputation for quality in the collectible market into a new nursery suite of play dolls developed specifically for mass consumer markets."

Macfarlane also indicated that a major part of his focus will be on improving the margins of the company's consumer products segment. "I believe, based on my operations experience, that there are opportunities to improve the efficiencies and effectiveness of our operations and to increase our overall profitability."

Before joining The Middleton Doll Company, Macfarlane was senior vice president of the Pleasant Company unit of Mattel, Inc, marketer of the American Girl line of dolls. From 1997 to 2000, he was CEO of Cowles Creative Publishing, Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he led company growth from $27 million in sales to $45 million. Prior to that he was CEO of Knox International and its subsidiary, Michigan Bulb Company, a direct marketing company that he took from $65 million in sales to $114 million in five years. He also served as group senior vice president of the Doyle Dane Bernbach advertising agency with responsibility for the Polaroid and Atari accounts. He began his career as a product manager and then a general manager of marketing and business development for the H. J. Heinz Company with assignments in both Australia and the U.S.

Macfarlane originally came to the United States from his native Australia as a fellow of the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, and completed graduate studies at the University of Hawaii, Columbia Business School and Harvard Business School.

The Middleton Doll Company, through its subsidiary Lee Middleton Original Dolls, Inc., is a designer and manufacturer of lifelike collectible and play dolls. The company also has a financial services subsidiary.

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Company intends such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and is including this statement for purposes of these safe harbor provisions. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe future plans, strategies and expectations of the Company, are generally identifiable by use of the words "may", "will", "could", "believe", "expect", "intend", "anticipate", "estimate", "project", or similar expressions. The Company's ability to predict results or the actual effect of future plans or strategies is inherently uncertain. Factors which could have a material adverse effect on the operations and future prospects of the Company and the subsidiaries include, but are not limited to, changes in: interest rates, general economic conditions, including the condition of the local real estate market, legislative/regulatory changes, monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. Government, including policies of the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve Board, the quality or composition of the loan or investment portfolios, demand for loan products, competition, demand for financial services in the Company's market area, demand for the Company's consumer products, payment when due of principal and interest on loans made by the Company, payment of rent by lessees on Company properties, reduction in loans and property owned by the Company, the ability of the Company to obtain additional acceptable funding sources and the necessity to make additions to the Company's loan loss reserve. These risks and uncertainties should be considered in evaluating forward-looking statements and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements.