Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 3, 1991 TAG: 9104030105
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: BOSTON LENGTH: Short
And nothing else.
The report's authors aren't bashful; they claim the black-and-white photo stops readers in their tracks and helps promote the athletic-wear company's "fun" image. "We're not in the business of making computers," a spokeswoman said.
But the photo, which shows a strategically shadowed male with his back to the camera, has drawn criticism from Sid Cato of Waukesha, Wis., the editor of a newsletter that tracks annual reports. Cato said Tuesday the use of a nude photo in an annual report was in questionable taste.
"I viewed what Reebok has done as infantile exhibitionism. It's nothing more than a little kid exposing himself," he said.
Addison Corporate Annual Reports, the New York-based company that produced the report for Reebok, had a simple response: Lighten up.
"This is the 1990s," said Richard Lewis, Addison president. "We want to have fun. We wanted to be outrageous, while being chaste."
The annual report, released this week, contains the usual number crunching for the Stoughton-based shoe and sportswear giant, whose holdings include AVIA, Boston Whalers and Rockport. Reebok had sales of nearly of $2.2 billion in 1990. - Associated Press
by CNB