Lowe's opens export opportunities to 13 mainland China suppliers as U.S. housing market outlook brightens

June Private Sourcing Events to connect Global Sources suppliers with buyers representing over US$661 billion in annual sales

HONG KONG, June 4 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- Lowe's, the world's second-largest home improvement retailer, opened export opportunities to 13 pre-screened mainland China suppliers at Global Sources' (Nasdaq: GSOL) Custom Private Sourcing Event ( http://www.PrivateSourcingEvents.com ) in Shanghai on May 27, 2009. Representatives of LG Sourcing, Lowe's wholly-owned subsidiary responsible for China sourcing, attended the meetings.

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Global Sources' Chairman and CEO, Merle A. Hinrichs, said: "Existing home sales and new home sales in the U.S. have risen from their lows in January. While a recovery cannot be called yet, market data suggests the worst may be over and the stabilizing market has home retailers increasing their sourcing from China.

"Through Private Sourcing Events, we are positioning our suppliers to be the first to benefit as markets recover, by giving them access to quality buyers in strengthening industries."

Victor Pan, Managing Office Director of LG Sourcing's Shanghai office, said: "For most home improvement products, only a fraction of suppliers are able to meet the necessary U.S. certifications. Even fewer are able to pass Lowe's stringent requirements, which are often much higher, because our mission is to be our customers' first choice store for the products. Private Sourcing Events save us time, by pinpointing suppliers who can meet both standards.

"We are always impressed by the suppliers we meet through these events and that is why we have continued to participate regularly for the past two years."

Lowe's is a US$48 billion retailer of a complete line of home improvement products, equipment and services. The company, through its subsidiaries, serves more than 10 million do-it-yourself and commercial business customers each week through over 1,600 stores in the U.S. and Canada.

Buyers with over $661 billion in annual sales to participate in June Private Sourcing Events

Buyers representing over $661 billion in annual sales are scheduled to meet Global Sources pre-screened suppliers at 14 Private Sourcing Events in June across mainland China. The events are scheduled to cover product categories including glassware, photo frames and bluetooth products, and are scheduled to be held in Guangzhou, Quanzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Wuxi. More information about Private Sourcing Events is available at http://www.PrivateSourcingEvents.com .

World's top buyers scheduled to attend upcoming Private Sourcing Events

Over 100 Private Sourcing Events are planned for 2009, with dozens of buyers including Carrefour, Metro and Tesco scheduled to participate. All Private Sourcing Events are complimentary for buyers and only Global Sources suppliers are eligible to participate.

Suppliers wishing to participate should contact csm@globalsources.com.

Specialized Global Sources websites, face-to-face events and trade magazines

Private Sourcing Events are part of the company's portfolio of brands for sourcing and product information services, which include Global Sources Online ( http://www.globalsources.com ), China Sourcing Fairs ( http://www.chinasourcingfair.com ) and Global Sources monthly magazines.

For more information about Global Sources' products and services to connect quality buyers and quality suppliers, visit http://www.corporate.globalsources.com .

About Global Sources

Global Sources is a leading business-to-business media company and a primary facilitator of trade with Greater China. The core business uses English-language media to facilitate trade from Greater China to the world. The other business segment utilizes Chinese-language media to enable companies to sell to, and within Greater China.

The company provides sourcing information to volume buyers and integrated marketing services to suppliers. It helps a community of over 803,000 active buyers source more profitably from complex overseas supply markets. With the goal of providing the most effective ways possible to advertise, market and sell, Global Sources enables suppliers to sell to hard-to-reach buyers in over 240 countries.

The company offers the most extensive range of media and export marketing services in the industries it serves. It delivers information on 4.3 million products and more than 196,000 suppliers annually through 14 online marketplaces, 13 monthly magazines, over 100 sourcing research reports and 12 specialized trade shows which run 29 times a year across 10 cities.

Suppliers receive more than 67 million sales leads annually from buyers through Global Sources Online ( http://www.globalsources.com ) alone.

Global Sources has been facilitating global trade for 38 years. Global Sources' network covers more than 69 cities worldwide. In mainland China, Global Sources has over 2,500 team members in more than 44 locations, and a community of over 1 million registered online users and magazine readers for Chinese-language media.

    Global Sources Press Contact in Asia
     Camellia So
     Tel:   +852-2555-5021
     Email: cso@globalsources.com

    Global Sources Press Contact in U.S.
     James W.W. Strachan
     Tel:   +1-480-664-8309
     Email: strachan@globalsources.com

    Global Sources Investor Contact in Asia
     Investor Relations Department
     Tel:   +852-2555-4777
     Email: investor@globalsources.com

    Global Sources Investor Contact in U.S.
     Kirsten Chapman & Timothy Dien
     Lippert/Heilshorn & Associates, Inc.
     Tel:   +1-415-433-3777
     Email: tdien@lhai.com

SOURCE Global Sources