EXHIBIT
99.1
U.S.
AUTO PARTS NETWORK, INC. NAMES SHANE EVANGELIST CHIEF EXECUTIVE
OFFICER
EVANGELIST
JOINS U.S. AUTO PARTS AFTER LEADING BLOCKBUSTER ONLINE
CARSON,
CA – October 15, 2007 – U.S. Auto Parts Network, Inc. (Nasdaq: PRTS), a leading
online provider of aftermarket auto parts and accessories, today announced
that
effective immediately, the Company has appointed Shane Evangelist as Chief
Executive Officer. Mr. Evangelist succeeds Mehran Nia, who served as
President and Chief Executive Officer since founding U.S. Auto Parts in 1995.
Mr. Nia will continue to serve on the Board of Directors.
Prior
to
joining U.S. Auto Parts, Mr. Evangelist served as Senior Vice President and
General Manager of Blockbuster Online where he was responsible for leading
the
creation, development and launch of Blockbuster’s online movie rental
service. Under Mr. Evangelist’s leadership, Blockbuster grew monthly
unique visitors faster than any other e-commerce company in 2004, was listed
as
the fastest growing Top 500 e-commerce business in 2005 according to
Internet Retailer and followed that up as the fastest growing Top 100
e-commerce business in 2006. During the first half of 2007,
Blockbuster Online reported 3.6 million subscribers, captured over 75% of
the
new online DVD subscription market, was shipping millions of DVDs per week
from
38 distribution centers across the country and delivered over 120%
year-over-year revenue growth.
Mr.
Evangelist, who joined Blockbuster Inc., in 2001, also served as Vice President
of Strategic Planning for the international video rental company with
responsibility for strategy development, mergers and acquisitions, marketing
and
capital deployment.
"We
are
excited to have Shane join U.S. Auto Parts,” said Robert J. Majteles, Chairman
of the Board. “Shane has built a terrific e-commerce track record in an
extremely competitive environment and has a wide ranging background in finance,
strategic planning, marketing and management. We believe that Shane
is ideally suited to lead U.S. Auto Parts in our next phase of growth as
we
continue our rapid expansion and further establish U.S. Auto Parts as the
leader
in the online auto parts market.”
Mr.
Majteles continued, “Since founding U.S. Auto Parts in 1995, Mehran has taken
the company through a period of significant and rapid growth and established
U.S. Auto Parts as a leading online provider of aftermarket auto parts and
accessories. Mehran has been a tremendous leader for U.S. Auto Parts,
and we are fortunate to be in the position to continue to build upon the
great
strengths Mehran created for us. On behalf of our Board of Directors,
shareholders, and all the employees of U.S. Auto Parts, we would like to
thank
Mehran for his vision and leadership over the years.”
"As
a
pioneer in the online auto parts market, U.S. Auto Parts is poised to drive
a
greater share of the $94 billion aftermarket auto parts market online,” said
Shane Evangelist, Chief Executive Officer. “I am excited about joining U.S. Auto
Parts at this time of great opportunity and believe the company is uniquely
positioned to lead this growing online industry.”
"Shane
is
an experienced and energetic e-commerce leader, and I anticipate that he
will
guide the Company to an even brighter future,” said Mr. Nia. “I will
be working with Shane on a smooth transition and believe that, under his
direction, our Company will continue to find innovative ways to increase
its
competitive positioning and capture market share."
Mr.
Evangelist graduated from the University of New Mexico’ s Anderson School of
Management with a degree in business administration and earned an MBA from
the
Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University. He began his career
at
IBM where he ran the media and entertainment accounts with clients such as
Viacom, Blockbuster,
Disney, and others. He was recently named one of the “Top 40 Marketing
Executives Under 40” in 2007 by Advertising Age
magazine.
In
connection with the hiring of Mr. Evangelist, the Compensation Committee
of the
Board of Directors adopted the 2007 New Employee Incentive Plan and approved
the
grant to Mr. Evangelist of two stock options under such Plan: one option
grant
to purchase up to 750,000 shares of the Company’s common stock vests over a four
year period; and a second performance-based option grant to purchase up to
250,000 shares of the Company’s common stock vests upon the attainment of
certain stock price metrics.
About
U.S. Auto Parts Network, Inc.
Established
in 1995, U.S. Auto Parts is a leading online provider of aftermarket auto
parts,
including body parts, engine parts, performance parts and accessories. Through
the Company's network of websites, U.S. Auto Parts provides individual consumers
with a broad selection of competitively priced products that are mapped by
a
proprietary product database to product applications based on vehicle makes,
models and years. U.S. Auto Parts' flagship websites are located at
http://www.partstrain.com and http://www.autopartswarehouse.com
and the Company's corporate website is located at
http://www.usautoparts.net.
U.S.
Auto
Parts is headquartered in Carson, California
Safe
Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995:
All
statements included or incorporated by reference in this release, other than
statements or characterizations of historical fact, are forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current
expectations, estimates and projections about our industry and business,
management’s beliefs, and certain assumptions made by us, all of which are
subject to change. Forward-looking statements can often be identified
by words such as “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “predicts,”
“believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “would,” “could,”
“potential,” “continue,” “ongoing,” similar expressions, and variations or
negatives of these words. These statements include, but are not
limited to, the impact of Mr. Evangelist on the Company’s business and market
position, and the Company’s expectations regarding the Company’s long-term
prospects, future financial operating results and potential
growth. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future
results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could
cause
our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed
in
any forward-looking statement.
Important
factors that may cause such a difference, include, but are not limited to,
the
Company’s demand for and pricing of the Company’s products; the competitive
environment in the Company’s industry; the Company’s ability to expand its
product offerings and make changes to its product mix; the Company’s ability to
integrate Mr. Evangelist into its management team; the volume of product
sales;
the gain or loss of customers; the Company’s ability to retain, recruit and hire
key executives, technical personnel and other employees in the positions
and
numbers, with the experience and capabilities, and at the compensation levels
needed to implement the business and product plans; and the Company’s ability to
timely and accurately identify opportunities in new markets, and manage
integration issues and costs inherent in acquisitions.
Our
Annual Report on Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, recent
Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other Securities and Exchange Commission
filings discuss the foregoing risks as well as other important risk factors
that
could contribute to such differences or otherwise affect our business, results
of operations and financial condition. The forward-looking statements
in this release speak only as of this date. Unless otherwise required
by law, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to revise or update
publicly any forward-looking statement for any reason, whether as result
of new
information, future events or otherwise.
Investor
Contacts:
Michael
McClane, Chief Financial Officer
U.S.
Auto
Parts Network, Inc.
michael@usautoparts.com
(310)
735-0085
Anne
Rakunas / Laura Foster
ICR,
Inc.
(310)
954-1100
anne.rakunas@icrinc.com
laura.foster@icrinc.com
Media
Contacts:
Stephanie
Sampiere / Matt Lindberg
ICR,
Inc.
(203)
682-8200
stephanie.sampiere@icrinc.com
matthew.lindberg@icrinc.com