Catalina Lighting, Inc. Announces New Chief Executive Officer

MIAMI, Aug 7, 2001 /PRNewswire/ -- Catalina Lighting, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: CALA.OB), a leading international designer, manufacturer and distributor of residential and office lighting products, announced today the hiring of Eric Bescoby as its new Chief Executive Officer.

Mr. Bescoby has more than 20 years of experience in such areas as general corporate management, domestic and international manufacturing, product development, marketing and sales. Immediately prior to joining the Company, Mr. Bescoby was President of JTECH Communications, Inc., in Boca Raton, Florida. He also spent 12 years with Rain Bird Sprinkler Manufacturing Corporation, the last six as general manager of a major Rain Bird division. Mr. Bescoby holds a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Davis and a M.B.A. from Arizona State University.

The Company also announced that Robert Hersh, Catalina's former Chief Executive Officer, will remain as Company President. In this position, Mr. Hersh will continue to be involved in the Company's sales, marketing and product development efforts and will oversee operations in Canada and Mexico.

This press release includes "forward-looking" statements, usually containing the words "believes," "anticipates," "estimates," "is optimistic," "expects" or similar expressions. These statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that would cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, general domestic and international economic conditions which may affect consumer spending; reliance on key customers who may delay, cancel or fail to place orders; continued acceptance of the Company's products in the marketplace; new products and technological changes; pressures on product prices and pricing inventories; increases in the costs of labor and raw material; dependence upon third-party vendors and imports from China, which may limit the Company's margins or affect the timing of revenue and sales recognition; competitive developments; changes in manufacturing and transportation costs; the availability of capital; the ability to satisfy the terms and covenants of credit and loan agreements, and the impact of increases in borrowing costs, each of which affect the Company's short-term and long- term liquidity and ability to operate as a going concern; foreign currency exchange rates; changes in the Company's effective tax rate; and other risks detailed in the Company's periodic report filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. By making these forward-looking statements, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release.

For further information, please contact David Sasnett, Chief Financial Officer or Eric Bescoby, Chief Executive Officer at (305) 558-4777. SOURCE Catalina Lighting, Inc.

CONTACT:
David Sasnett, Chief Financial Officer, or Eric Bescoby, Chief Executive Officer, both of Catalina Lighting, +1-305-558-4777 /Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/gh/cnoc/comp/146925.html