LONDON, July 9 (Reuters) - SuperGroup, the Britishcompany behind the Superdry fashion brand, said it had signed ajoint venture deal to enter the Chinese market, as it posted asmall rise in annual profit.
The firm, whose trademark jackets, hooded tops and joggingbottoms are popular with teenagers and twentysomethings, said onThursday it had struck a 10-year deal with Chinese retailerTrendy International Group, which will manage day-to-dayoperations while SuperGroup focuses on brands and marketing.
SuperGroup said underlying pretax profit for the year toApril 25 rose 2 percent to 63.2 million pounds ($97.4 million),within its guided range of 60-65 million pounds, on revenue up12.9 percent at 486.6 million pounds.
The firm, which has over 135 European stores and sells goodsglobally via concessions and online, said trading in its newfiscal year had started well, albeit against a weak comparativeperiod, with like-for-like retail sales up 20.3 percent in thefirst 10 weeks.
($1 = 0.6488 pounds) (Reporting by Neil Maidment; Editing by Pravin Char)
