<PAGE> 1
EXHIBIT 99.1
[LETTERHEAD]
KAUFMAN AND BROAD IS NOW KB HOME
NEW NAME ARTICULATES COMPANY'S CUSTOMER-CENTRIC FOCUS
LOS ANGELES (JANUARY 17, 2001) - Responding to ongoing customer opinion, Kaufman
and Broad Home Corporation (NYSE: KBH), the leading provider of quality
entry-level homes in the United States, today adopts a new consumer-friendly
name for its operations: KB Home. This momentous day for the 44 year-old company
is memorialized by a Certificate of Appreciation from Los Angeles Mayor Richard
Riordan, a closing bell-ringing ceremony on the New York Stock Exchange, and by
bold new signs atop the Company's Westwood headquarters, where employees are
celebrating KB Home day. Local events celebrating the "KB Home Family" are being
held today and through the weekend in each of the Company's 14 markets.
"KB Home is what many of our customers have always called us, so we're changing
our name to reflect their input," said KB Home Chairman and CEO Bruce Karatz.
The new name also more clearly describes what KB Home does -- creates highly
personalized homes for families at prices they can afford. "We're changing our
name, we're not changing who we are -- a company committed to helping our
homebuyers realize their dreams."
KB Home is a more recognizable and memorable name. In a survey of its
homebuyers, the company found that 74 percent of respondents identified the name
KB Home as their homebuilder. "We think it's great that our company has
established such trust and familiarity with our customers that they already
recognize us by this shorter, friendlier name," Karatz added.
KB Home utilizes extensive consumer data to build homes its customers want to
buy, in locations where they want to live. The Company has surveyed more than
one million homebuyers and potential homebuyers to date, and survey results have
directly influenced the Company's business strategy.
--MORE--
<PAGE> 2
KAUFMAN AND BROAD IS NOW KB HOME
PAE 2 OF 2
"Everything we've learned shows that people want to create a personalized home,
not just buy a house," Karatz said. "We want our homeowners to have as many
options as possible for expressing their individual tastes, and the name KB Home
is a warm way to reflect what we offer. That has long been central to our
business strategy -- now it's reflected in our name."
KB Home specializes in homes for first-time and move-up buyers. First-time
buyers comprise 45 percent of the national home buying market, according to
Chicago Title's 1999 survey. The Company holds leadership positions in all of
its markets throughout its 14 U.S. divisions - it is number one in California
(Northern and Southern), Las Vegas, San Antonio, Austin and Tucson; and ranks
number two in Denver, Houston, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Phoenix and Albuquerque. In
addition, the company has a strong presence in nine of the top 20 metro areas
projected to show the highest job growth over the next five years. The new KB
Home name is designed to easily telegraph the Company's expertise, setting the
stage for expansion in high-growth markets.
KB Home's surveys have illustrated that homebuyers treasure the ability to
personalize their new home. In 2000, Kaufman and Broad opened its first Dream
Home Studio showcasing 5,000 options for its customers to customize their home.
Within the next year, all of KB Home's new home showrooms will be replaced with
the highly successful studios, to be called KB HOME Studios.
NOTE TO EDITORS: Video footage of Bruce Karatz ringing the closing bell on the
New York Stock Exchange today is available via satellite feed starting at 3:55
p.m. EST by accessing fiber line Waterfront #1630. Photos of the closing bell
ceremony are available via Associated Press, New York (212-621-1902).
-30-
ABOUT KB HOME:
KB Home is one of America's premier homebuilders with domestic operating
divisions in the following regions and states: West Coast-- California;
Southwest-- Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico; and Central-- Colorado and Texas.
Kaufman & Broad S.A., the Company's majority-owned subsidiary, is one of the
largest homebuilders in France. In fiscal 2000, the Company delivered homes to
22,847 families in the United States and France. It also operates a full-service
mortgage company for the convenience of its buyers. Founded in 1957, KB Home is
a Fortune 500 Company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker
symbol "KBH". For more information about any of KB Home's new home communities,
call 1-800-34-HOMES or visit the Company's web site at www.kbhome.com.
