MPH.L Regulatory News (MPH)

27 Apr 2007 07:01

Marchpole Holdings PLC27 April 2007 MARCHPOLE HOLDINGS PLC ("Marchpole" or "the Group") New Licence Agreement Subsidiary Jean Charles de Castelbajac to design exclusive headwear collection with world famous baseball cap company Marchpole Holdings plc, (LSE: MPH), the fast growing fashion brand managementgroup, is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary, Jean Charles deCastelbajac ("JCC") has signed a long-term licence agreement with the headwearcompany New Era. New Era is best known for introducing the baseball cap over 70years ago which evolved to become the world famous New Era 59FIFTY collection,more commonly known as the "Brooklyn style" cap. Marchpole is the first designhouse selected to work in partnership with New Era. Under the terms of this agreement, which is initially for a three year period, a new collection of fashion headwear will be launched in partnership with JCC for the Spring/Summer 2007 season. The exclusive collection will be launchedworldwide and will have global distribution through the Marchpole/JCC and NewEra international networks. New Era is a US based company that designs, manufactures and distributesheadwear for catwalk to high-street and sports fashion. Its New Era 59FIFTYcollection has been the official headwear of US baseball, basketball and hockeyteams (MLB, NBA and NHL) as well as major European football teams includingManchester United, Barcelona and Juventus. In 2005, New Era had an annual turnover of US$320 million. Marchpole Holdings Executive Deputy Chairman, Michael Morris commented:"I am delighted to announce this licence deal with New Era. The company has anexcellent reputation and good client base and the headwear market is an areathat offers considerable opportunity for growth. This agreement adds anotherimportant product line to the JCC portfolio and provides greater opportunity toraise the brand's awareness on the international fashion and sports stage. Thepartnership is yet another example of the Board's commitment to its ongoingprogramme to expand the product offering of our portfolio of fashion brands bypursuing earnings-enhancing licensing opportunities." - ends - For further information, please contact: Bell Pottinger Corporate & Financial 020 7861 3232David Rydell/Emma Kent/Amy Rajendran Marchpole Holdings plc 020 7908 7777Michael Morris, Executive ChairmanJohn Harrison, Finance Director Note to Editors: • Marchpole Holdings plc ("Marchpole") is an international brand management group that designs, produces and sells clothing and accessories for eight globally recognised fashion labels. It operates in all of the world's main markets - UK, mainland Europe, Middle East, Asia and the USA • Its respected brands include Boateng, Emmanuel Ungaro, Ungaro, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac ("JCC"), Jean-Charles de Castelbajac / Rossignol, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac/Okaidi, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac / New Era and Homebody • Marchpole is renowned for its integrated approach to brand management, taking a brand from concept to design studio to the customer interface. It is not a clothing manufacturer • The Group has grown considerably in the past four years, from a licensee with one core license (YSL menswear) - to today's international business that manages its brands across a multitude of clothing lines and accessories • Marchpole's acquisition (March 2006) of Moda America - the US licensee for leading designer Emanuel Ungaro - provided further growth opportunities in the UK and America and strengthened the Company's relationship with Ungaro • The acquisition also enabled the Company to launch the Ungaro brand, already established by Marchpole in Europe and Asia, into the US, Canada and South America. The acquisition has also enabled the Company to re-launch JCC into America. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange