News

August 27, 2007
MAUI AND SONS ANNOUNCES MIRAMAR REPRESENTATION

Pasadena, California--August 27, 2007—Classic surf / California beach lifestyle brand, Maui and Sons, announced today that it has entered into an exclusive agreement with MIRAMAR Brands Group, Inc. (MIRAMAR), a privately-held, Pasadena, California-based company, to engineer strategic US Direct-to-Retail licensing opportunities based on the company’s distinctive brand identity . 

Maui and Sons will combine with MIRAMAR’S success in managing and leveraging brand equities  to provide an exclusive range of Maui and Sons products to include clothing, swimwear, accessories, eyewear, footwear, luggage and more.

    Stephen Ascher, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MIRAMAR said, "There are very few established California lifestyle brands with the global reach of Maui and Sons. We are tremendously excited to be working together with of one of the original, innovative beach lifestyle brands in the industry. Maui and Sons products and their distinct "cookie logo" are positively ingrained in the mind of the US consumer.  Maui and Sons' tremendous consumer awareness, brand equity, trust, and unique perspective makes the brand ideal for the delivery of sales, excitement and exclusivity to a retailer."

    Jim Demet, President of Maui and Sons, said, "Over the past 25 years, Maui and Sons has been one of the leading global California beach lifestyle brands with current distribution in over 80 countries.  Stephen Ascher and Miramar Brands Group are well respected in the licensing field and have a long history and reputation for their involvement with some of the largest licensing transactions in our industry. By joining forces with MIRAMAR, we look forward to migrating the strengths of our global brand onto yet another successful platform here in our backyard.”

About Maui and Sons

Inspired by the creative genius and founding partner artist Rick Rietveld, Maui and Sons as their new business was called, was launched with bold ideas, a few thousand dollars and a pair of madras surf shorts. Aggressively marketing their unique design to southern California surf shops and to local high schools, they broke all the rules of time. Everyone they asked told them that making their logo big and placing it on the back pocket was the wrong thing to do. But they did it anyway. And when the partners couldn’t afford a photo shoot for their first ad in Surfer Magazine, they used an amazing Rick Rietveld painting. No one had seen anything like Maui and Sons before.

Several years later, Maui and Sons was among the fastest growing businesses in America. The Maui and Sons “cookie” logo and their unique Sharkman icon helped them become one of the most recognizable brands for active sportswear. Maui and Sons was purchased in 1989 by Richard Harrington, a successful businessman who held the company’s international licenses since 1983. A true business visionary, Richard saw the global potential of the Maui and Sons brand. He transformed Maui and Sons from a clothing manufacturer to a brand licensing company and expanded its operations internationally. By carefully adding a quality roster of global licensees, which include North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia, and Australia, Maui and Sons has grown to become one of the best known brands of active sports apparel and equipment worldwide.

Committed to supporting the active sports industry, Maui and Sons has sponsored a number of top athletes over the years, including: Laird Hamilton, Keoni Downing, Ted Robinson, Buzzy Kerbox, Luke Egan and Brian Keaulana, among others. Their clothing has been seen on Baywatch starring Gena Lee Nolin, who was at one time a Maui and Sons spokesperson.

While the focus of the company has expanded, the unique Maui and Sons style and illustration approach continues. Sharkman, the character created in the early days of Maui and Sons, is as popular as ever. The embodiment of the core image of Maui and Sons, Sharkman has become one of the best-known global icons in the active sports industry. More information is available at www.mauiandsons.com.

About Miramar Brands Group, Inc.

Privately held, Pasadena, California based Miramar Brands Group, Inc. (MIRAMAR), with offices in Montreal, New York and Paris, is a world leader in the licensing, brand management and representation of established consumer brands globally.  MIRAMAR’s executives efforts and expertise have directly led to the generation of over five (5) Billion USD in annual retail sales of licensed products globally.  MIRAMAR’s leading clients include, among others:  Lagardère Active Media (Bourse: LGA.PA), Hachette Filipacchi Media (Paris), Hachette Filipacchi Media (US), ELLE, Road & Track, Car and Driver, American Brand Holdings, Hang Ten, Quiksilver’s (Nasdaq: ZQK) Tony Hawk Clothing brand and its Hawk Designs, Inc. subsidiary,  Russell Corporation, owned by Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A and BRK.B) and its Spalding division, Design Within Reach (Nasdaq: DWR), The Rays Group’s Split Clothing, Con Surfboards, Maui and Sons and others.  Among its holdings, MIRAMAR owns the worldwide intellectual property rights to the “King of the Beach ®,” and “Havuk ®” brands.  MIRAMAR’s global retail partners for brands it owns or represents include among others, Kohl’s Department Stores (NYSE: KSS), Dick’s Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS), Target Stores (NYSE: TGT), Wal*Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT), The Sports Authority , Sport Chalet (Nasdaq:SPCHA), Academy Sports, Big Five Sporting Goods (Nasdaq: BGFE), Costco (Nasdaq:COST), Chicks Sporting Goods and other leading specialty stores and chains throughout the world.