BusinessWeek Names Nautilus Group as No.2 Growth Company

VANCOUVER, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 5, 2002--The Nautilus Group, Inc. (NYSE:NLS - News), a leading marketer, developer, and manufacturer of branded health and fitness products, today announced that it was ranked #2 on BusinessWeek's listing of "Hot Growth Companies."

To win a position on BusinessWeek's list, a company must have excelled in three categories over the last three years: sales growth, earnings growth and return on invested capital. According to BusinessWeek, The Nautilus Group's three-year averages were 85.2% growth in sales, 77.5% growth in earnings and 42.4% return on invested capital.

In 2000 and 2001, The Nautilus Group was ranked #1 and #2, respectively, in BusinessWeek's listing of "Hot Growth Companies." This year, The Nautilus Group was the only company to be listed among the top five growth companies for the third consecutive year.

"We are very pleased to win recognition from BusinessWeek for the third year in a row," said Brian Cook, Chief Executive Officer. "Our high rankings show that we have been successfully executing our long-term growth strategy. We have expanded our suite of powerful brands, diversified our product lines and developed multiple distribution channels, which continue to make us a more complete health and fitness company, and drive our growth. We are excited about our potential in 2002 and beyond."

About The Nautilus Group

The Nautilus Group, Inc. (formerly Direct Focus, Inc.) is a leading marketer, developer, and manufacturer of branded health and fitness products sold under such well-known names as Nautilus, Bowflex, Schwinn and StairMaster. The Company currently markets its Bowflex home fitness equipment and Nautilus Sleep Systems through its direct-marketing channel, using an effective combination of television commercials, infomercials, response mailings, the Internet, and inbound/outbound call centers. The Company sells its Nautilus, Schwinn and StairMaster commercial fitness equipment through its sales force and selected dealers to health clubs, government agencies, hotels, corporate fitness centers, colleges, universities, and assisted living facilities. The Nautilus Group also markets and sells a complete line of consumer fitness equipment, under its Nautilus, Schwinn and StairMaster brands, through a network of specialty dealers, distributors, and retailers worldwide. The Company is headquartered in Vancouver, Washington. The Nautilus Group is located on the Web at www.nautilusgroup.com.

From time to time, The Nautilus Group may issue forward-looking statements relating to its products and services, including statements regarding its Nautilus, Schwinn Fitness, and StairMaster businesses. Factors that could affect The Nautilus Group's actual results include its reliance on a limited product line, fluctuations in advertising rates, market acceptance of its existing and future products, growth management challenges including the growth resulting from the acquisition of the assets of Schwinn Fitness in September 2001and StairMaster in February 2002, a decline in consumer spending due to unfavorable economic conditions, government regulatory action, its ability to effectively identify and negotiate any future strategic acquisitions, its ability to integrate the StairMaster business and any other acquired businesses into its operations, unpredictable events and circumstances relating to international operations including its use of foreign manufacturers, and general economic conditions. Please refer to our reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, for a further discussion of these risks and uncertainties. We also caution you not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. We undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date they were made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

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