Mulberry Group PLC Joint Venture Agreement in Japan (3773K)

TIDMMUL

RNS Number : 3773K

Mulberry Group PLC

07 July 2017

Mulberry Group plc

Joint Venture Agreement in Japan

Mulberry Group plc ("the Group"), the British luxury brand, announces the signing of an agreement with Onward Global Fashion Co., Limited ("OGF"), a Japanese registered entity, to form a new 50:50 joint venture company to operate its business in Japan. OGF is a wholly owned subsidiary of Onward Holdings Co., Limited, a company which is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

-- The new company, Mulberry Japan Co. Limited ("Mulberry Japan"), will be headquartered in Tokyo

-- Mulberry Japan will develop the Group's retail, digital, omni-channel and wholesale business in the Japanese market

-- The Group and OGF will be equal partners, each owning 50% of the share capital of Mulberry Japan

-- The Group and OGF will invest a total of GBP2.8 million (Yen400 million) in Mulberry Japan's share capital to provide funds to develop the distribution network and build the brand's presence in Japan

-- Mulberry Japan will benefit from the Group's digital and brand building capabilities coupled with OGF's experience in distributing luxury brands across Japan

The joint venture will advance the Group's strategy of directly participating in key international luxury markets while continuing to refine its positioning in the UK.

THIERRY ANDRETTA, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, COMMENTED:

"I am pleased to announce our partnership with OGF in Japan, a market where we see significant growth opportunity for Mulberry. In OGF we have a partner which has extensive luxury goods experience and a robust infrastructure which will enable us to advance our international retail and omni-channel strategy in this key market."

Joint Venture Structure

Mulberry Japan will manage all retail, digital fulfillment and wholesale distribution for the Japanese market. A general manager has been appointed to build a local team, based in the Tokyo head office. Mulberry Japan is expected to be operational from late 2017. The distribution platform currently consists of a new Mulberry store in Tokyo Ginza G6, two concessions (one in Tokyo, one in Osaka), wholesale and the Group's mulberry.com site.

The joint venture will be accounted for as a minority interest in the Group's financial statements. The Group anticipates the investment in Mulberry Japan to be profit-neutral at Group level during the initial two-year development phase.

FOR FURTHER DETAILS PLEASE CONTACT:

 
 Mulberry Investor Relations 
  Allegra Perry                          020 7605 6795 
 
 Bell Pottinger 
  Daniel de Belder / Elizabeth Snow      020 3772 2561 
 
 GCA Altium 
  Sam Fuller / Tim Richardson            020 7484 4040 
 
 Barclays 
  Nicola Tennent / Thomas Dugarin        020 3134 9801 
 

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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July 07, 2017 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)