(Adds analyst, details, background, shares)
LONDON, July 9 (Reuters) - SuperGroup, the Britishcompany behind the Superdry fashion brand, has signed a jointventure deal to take its clothes into China, it said onThursday, stepping up its push for a global presence.
The firm, whose trademark jackets, hooded tops and joggingbottoms are popular with teenagers and twentysomethings, hasover 160 stores in Britain and elsewhere in Europe, with goodssold in over 100 countries including concessions and online.
Expansion is planned in countries such as Germany andAustria, but it has also moved to gain exposure to the UnitedStates, and now China.
Having bought its U.S. licence back in March to helpaccelerate growth, the company said on Thursday it had struck aminimum 10-year deal with retailer Trendy International Group toopen its stores in China, a country set to overtake the UnitedStates as the world's biggest apparel market.
Shares in the company were up 3.6 percent at 1,285 pence inearly trade, boosted also by strong first-quarter sales figures.
"We believe SuperGroup's global growth opportunities remainundervalued. It is an early stage roll-out story with potentialto double its UK & European owned store base, plus franchisegrowth opportunities and longer-term upside from the U.S. andnow China," said Investec analyst Kate Calvert, who has a 'buy'rating on the stock.
The first Chinese stores will not open until the middle of2016, SuperGroup said, declining to give specific rolloutfigures. The tie-up will be funded by a combined investment ofup to 18 million pounds ($28 million) and is expected to beself-funding within two years of being in operation.
Trendy, which has 3,000 stores in China, will manage dailyoperations while SuperGroup focuses on brands and marketing.
SuperGroup also reported a small rise in profit for the yearto April 25. Underlying pretax profit rose 2 percent to 63.2million pounds, within its guided range of 60-65 million pounds,on revenue up 12.9 percent at 486.6 million pounds.
The firm said trading in its new fiscal year had startedwell, albeit against a weak comparative period, withlike-for-like retail sales up 20.3 percent in the first 10weeks.
($1 = 0.6499 pounds) (Reporting by Neil Maidment; Editing by Pravin Char and MarkPotter)
