12th Oct 2006 07:00
Hot Tuna (International) plc12 October 2006 Press Release 12 October 2006 Hot Tuna (International) PLC ("Hot Tuna" or "the Company") Successful re-launch of Hot Tuna brand in the UK Hot Tuna (International) PLC (AIM:HTT), a lifestyle apparel brand with authenticsurf heritage, announces today that it has successfully re-launched the Hot Tunabrand into the UK surf market. The Company is pleased to announce it has already secured orders for the SpringSummer 2007 season in the UK from several key independents and major groups.The stores are due to receive their initial orders from the middle of March2007, in time for Easter and the start of the UK Summer season. The new range has been extremely well received and great support has beenassociated with the previous history of such an iconic brand. Hot Tuna UK'slaunch plan is to establish an initial account base of 'A' grade independentsurf lifestyle retailers together with several of the major retailers. So farthe Company has secured business with some of the most respected and keyindependents for Hot Tuna to be associated with including Fluid, one of the mainretailers of surf apparel in the East Anglian region, which has eight storesbased in Ipswich, Colchester, Chelmsford, Norwich and Cambridge. Two Seasons, a core retailer of street, surf and snow wear in the Midlands, hasalso agreed to distribute Hot Tuna's products. Two Seasons has seven storeslocated in Northampton, Cambridge, Solihull, Coventry, Worcester and Nottingham. Agreements have also been signed with Shore Watersports and Cult Clothing.Shore Watersports operates two stores, in Wittering and Hayling Island, andpossesses one of the largest ranges of wetsuits for sale in the UK. CultClothing is one of the UK's top independent street fashion stores and has elevenstores located in Belfast, Cambridge, London, Birmingham, Cheltenham, Edinburgh,Norwich, Glasgow, Oxford and Brighton. Commenting on the re-launch, Ranjit Murugason, Executive Chairman of Hot Tuna,said: "We are extremely pleased with the strong progress that Hot Tuna has madeover the summer months and it is exciting to see how quickly the UK market iswelcoming back the Hot Tuna brand. This proves that the brand has maintainedits excellent reputation and desirability in one of the toughest fashionmarketplaces." - Ends - For further information:Hot Tuna (International) PLCRanjit Murugason, Executive Chairman Tel: +44 (0) 20 7372 [email protected] Seymour Pierce LimitedSarah Wharry / Parimal Kumar Tel: +44 (0) 20 7107 [email protected] www.seymourpierce.com Media enquiries:AbchurchHenry Harrison-Topham / Chris Lane Tel: +44 (0) 20 7398 [email protected] www.abchurch-group.com Notes to Editors Hot Tuna International PLC (AIM:HTT) owns the rights to the Hot Tuna brand, aprogenitor of global youth fashion, born in Australia with a heritage ofauthentic surf culture. Hot Tuna is one of the world's most iconic names in surf lifestyle and can traceits roots back to 1969 when it was founded by a surfer and his fashion designerwife. Though the label had not been actively marketed over for the lastdecade, it retained an organic cult status among core action sports enthusiasts. In June 2005, Hot Tuna International PLC purchased the 'Hot Tuna' brand fromFrontier International (Holdings) Pty Ltd, listed on AIM in September 2005, andhas since started to aggressively market the brand and reinvigorate thebusiness. The Company now owns all intellectual property rights to its name andrelated iconography, and has put in place key management drawn from theexecutive ranks of Quiksilver, O'Neill and Ocean Pacific, among others. Headquartered in the UK, Hot Tuna operates design, marketing and distributionhubs in the USA, Australia and the UK. In its core markets, Hot Tuna sellsproducts, which are directly manufactured in facilities in North America, Europeand in China. Hot Tuna offices are maintained in Sydney, Los Angeles and London. For more information, visit www.hottunaplc.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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