Pickups Plus Opens Franchise in Lexington Marking Second Location in Kentucky

    MASON, Ohio--March 15, 2001--Pickups Plus, Inc. (OTCBB:PUPS), a leading retailer and national franchiser in the $30 billion truck and SUV aftermarket accessories industry, announced today the opening of its second retail store in the state of Kentucky, with the opening of its latest franchise in Lexington.
    The new retail outlet is located at 4013 Nicholasville Road. The 4,000 sq. foot store will dedicate 2,100 sq. feet for retail space and 1,900 sq. feet for the two installation bays and storage. "We are pleased that this new Pickups Plus store is opening its doors in the busiest retail area of Lexington near the Fayette Mall," adds Brian Glover, Vice President of Franchising and Operations. "We feel the Pickups Plus system combined with high quality brands, such as Leer truck caps, will provide a winning combination in the Lexington market."
    Pickups Plus just recently announced that it aligned itself with Leer, the No.1 selling brand of truck caps and the largest manufacturer in the industry.
    Pickups Plus sells all major brands of popular pick-up and SUV accessories at its stores. It features quality name brands such as Westin, Penda, Lund, GTS, Smittybuilt and hundreds of other manufacturers to match makes and models of vehicles from General Motors , Dodge/Jeep , Ford and all leading imports. Pickups Plus also installs almost everything it sells, onsite.
    Year to date, trucks have represented 52.6% of total North American passenger automotive production. In addition, three out of the five top selling vehicles in the U.S. are trucks or SUVs as well. Pickups Plus (www.pickupsplus.com) believes that every one of these truck owners is another potential customer for their stores where shoppers can choose from tens of thousands of after market automotive parts and accessories.

    About PickUps Plus

    Founded in 1993, Pickups Plus is a leading national franchiser of retail stores dedicated to the sale and installation of quality aftermarket accessories for pickup trucks and SUVs -- a $30+ billion a year market. Pickups Plus currently operates three corporate retail stores and has another seven franchise stores, throughout eight states. After several years of extensive development and testing of its franchise system, the company is gearing up to start a nationwide expansion to be first-to-market in its growing, but highly fragmented industry made up almost entirely of small, independent, non-branded shops.

    This news release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties which can cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are contained in the Company's reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission available via Edgar.