Successful relaunch of Hot Tuna brand in Australia
13 October 2006
Hot Tuna (International) PLC ( AIM:HTT), a lifestyle apparel brand with authentic surf heritage, announces today that the Company has successfully relaunched the brand Hot Tuna into the surf market of Australia.
Following the acquisition of the licensing rights for the Hot Tuna brand in Australia in July 2006, the Company has already been able to secure orders in Australia, with retail stores due to receive their initial orders during November 2006, at the start of the Australian summer.
The new range has been well received and great support has been associated with the previous history of the brand. Hot Tuna Australia’s launch plan was to establish an initial account base of ‘A’ grade independent surf retailers and the Company is delighted to announce that it has received firm orders from Glue Stores (10 retail outlets), a division of Harvey Norman and one of Australia’s most successful retail groups, Surf Vision (13 retail outlets) the leading independent retailer on the Queensland coast, as well as Beach Street (3 retail outlets), the dominant surf chain of the southern coast of Sydney.
Hot Tuna Australia has also been successful in opening an account with one of the biggest retailers in Indonesia. Point Break is the most successful surf chain in Indonesia with over 40 outlets and a rapidly increasing account base. Hot Tuna was one of Point Break’s most successful labels in the 1980s when Point Break was a stand alone account. Point Break will launch the brand in November 2006, at the same time as the Australian launch, with the men’s range and the Company will roll out its women’s range in the summer of 2007.
Commenting on the relaunch, Ranjit Murugason, Executive Chairman of Hot Tuna, said: “I am pleased to announce these initial orders in Australia which are testament to the quality and sustainability of Hot Tuna’s product. This quick turnaround is a major achievement, as a suitable range had to be developed, produced and sold by a newly appointed sales team all within eight weeks.
“We are extremely excited about opening the Point Break account in Indonesia as Indonesia is seen as one of the most rapidly expanding markets in Asia for surf wear. The rapid expansion of Point Break is testament to this emerging market and having set foot here again is another positive step in achieving our rapid growth plans for 2007.”
For further information:
| Hot Tuna (International) PLC | |
| Ranjit Murugason, Executive Chairman | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7372 9378 |
| ranjit_murugason@hottunaplc.com | |
| Seymour Pierce Limited | |
| Sarah Wharry / Parimal Kumar | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7107 8000 |
| parimalkumar@seymourpierce.com | www.seymourpierce.com |
Media Enquiries:
| Abchurch | |
| Henry Harrison-Topham / Chris Lane | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7398 7700 |
| henry.ht@abchurch-group.com | www.abchurch-group.com |
Notes to Editors:
Hot Tuna International PLC (AIM:HTT) owns the rights to the Hot Tuna brand, a progenitor of global youth fashion, born in Australia with a heritage of authentic surf culture.
Hot Tuna is one of the world’s most iconic names in surf lifestyle and can trace its roots back to 1969 when it was founded by a surfer and his fashion designer wife. Though the label had not been actively marketed over for the last decade, it retained an organic cult status among core action sports enthusiasts.
In June 2005, Hot Tuna International PLC purchased the ‘Hot Tuna’ brand from Frontier International (Holdings) Pty Ltd, listed on AIM in September 2005, and has since started to aggressively market the brand and reinvigorate the business. The Company now owns all intellectual property rights to its name and related iconography, and has put in place key management drawn from the executive ranks of Quiksilver, O’Neill and Ocean Pacific, among others.
Headquartered in the UK, Hot Tuna operates design, marketing and distribution hubs in the USA, Australia and the UK. In its core markets, Hot Tuna sells products, which are directly manufactured in facilities in North America, Europe and in China.
Hot Tuna offices are maintained in Sydney, Los Angeles and London.
For more information, visit www.hottunaplc.com