EL PASO, Texas, Oct. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Helen of Troy Limited (Nasdaq: HELE), designer, developer and worldwide marketer of brand-name personal care and household consumer products, today announced that it is increasing the number of shares covered by the existing stock repurchase authorization and extending the authorization, effective immediately.

On July 9, 2003, the Board of Directors of Helen of Troy authorized the repurchase of up to 3,000,000 common shares in the open market or through private transactions. On April 25, 2006, the Board of Directors approved a resolution extending the plan to May 31, 2009. The current action of the Board of Directors authorized an additional 3,000,000 shares to be repurchased and extended the authorization to continue until October 31, 2011.

Gerald J. Rubin, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, commenting on the stock repurchase authorization stated, "Our current repurchase authorization has 153,267 shares remaining out of the original 3,000,000 shares, and we felt it was appropriate at this time to increase the existing authorization by 3,000,000 shares and extend the term of the authorization to October 31, 2011."

Helen of Troy Limited is a leading designer, producer and global marketer of brand-name personal care and household consumer products. The Company's personal care products include hair dryers, curling irons, hair setters, women's shavers, brushes, combs, hair accessories, home hair clippers, mirrors, foot baths, body massagers, paraffin baths, liquid hair styling products, body powder and skin care products. The Company's household products include kitchen tools, cutlery, bar and wine accessories, household cleaning tools, tea kettles, trash cans, storage and organization products, gardening tools, kitchen mitts and trivets, barbeque tools, and rechargeable lighting products. The Company's products are sold to consumers by mass merchandisers, drug chains, warehouse clubs and grocery stores under licensed trade marks including Vidal Sassoon(R), licensed from The Procter & Gamble Company, Revlon(R), licensed from Revlon Consumer Products Corporation, Dr. Scholl's(R), licensed from Schering-Plough HealthCare Products, Inc., Sunbeam(R), Health at Home(R) and Health o meter(R) licensed from Sunbeam Products, Inc., Sea Breeze(R), licensed from Shiseido Company Ltd., Vitapointe(R), licensed from Sara Lee Household and Body Care UK Limited, Toni & Guy(R) outside of the Americas, licensed from Mascolo Limited, Bed Head(R) and TIGI(R) in the Americas licensed from MBL/TIGI Products, LP, and Toni&Guy(R) in the Americas licensed from MBL/TONI&GUY Products, LP. Helen of Troy's owned brands include OXO(R), Good Grips(R), Candela(R), Brut(R), Vitalis(R), Final Net(R), Ammens(R), Condition(R) 3-in-1, SkinMilk(R), Dazey(R), Caruso(R), Karina(R), DCNL(R), Nandi(R), and Isobel(R). The Company markets hair and beauty care products under the Helen of Troy(R), Hot Tools(R), Hot Spa(R), Salon Edition(R), Gallery Series(R), Wigo(R), Fusion Tools(R), Belson(R), Belson Pro(R), Gold 'N Hot(R), Curlmaster(R), Profiles(R), Comare(R), Mega Hot(R), and Shear Technology(R) owned brands to the professional beauty salon industry.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements, which are subject to change. The forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any or all of the forward-looking statements may turn out to be wrong. They can be affected by inaccurate assumptions or by known or unknown risks and uncertainties. Many of these factors will be important in determining the Company's actual future results. Consequently, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Actual future results may vary materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by a number of risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical or anticipated results. Generally, the words "anticipates", "believes", "expects" and other similar words identify forward-looking statements. The Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company intends its forward-looking statements to speak only as of the time of such statements, and does not undertake to update or revise them as more information becomes available. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release should be read in conjunction with, and are subject to and qualified by, the risks described in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended February 29, 2008 and in our other filings with the SEC. Investors are urged to refer to the risk factors referred to above for a description of these risks.

SOURCE Helen of Troy Limited