30 January 2008

JWS act on sale of Australian icon brand MAMBO

Johnson Winter & Slattery acted as legal adviser to Gazal Corporation Limited on the sale of its Australian icon brand MAMBO. On 29 January 2008 Gazal announced the sale of its Mambo brand outside of the European Union and its Australian wholesale and retail businesses to Equity and Capital Finance Australia, headed by Australian surfwear entrepreneur Mr Angus Kingsmill and Mr Tony Woodward. This followed Gazal's announcement on 25 October 2007 of the sale of its Mambo brand inside the European Union to Blacks Leisure Group plc, a leading UK outdoor and boardwear retailer. Founded in 1984, MAMBO designs, markets, wholesales, retails and licenses surf wear, street wear, swim wear, head wear, foot wear, ski wear, eye wear and accessories. The MAMBO business has registered trade marks or has filed applications in over 40 countries, including the USA, Japan, China, India, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, much of Latin America and of course, Australia. In 2006, Principle (an Australian research company) named Mambo as ‘Australia’s sixth most authentic brand’ in a list that included brands such as Bonds, Speedo, RM Williams and Billabong. The JWS team was led by corporate partners Damian Reichel, Tim Bowley and IP partner Christine Ecob. Tim Bowley said the firm was pleased to be able to assist Gazal in executing an important strategic step for the organisation. "Gazal is a long standing client of the firm and the story of Mambo is a fascinating one" says Bowley. "The sale of Mambo allows our client to focus on their other successful brands including Bisley, Van Heusen, Davenport and Lovable". Christine Ecob, who looked after the international trade mark aspects of the deal said "It provided a fascinating insight into a business that has established a diverse international trade mark portfolio including the iconic MAMBO brand and a large range of detailed artwork for clothing". The purchaser was represented by Banki Haddock Fiora. BHF's team was led by partner Richard Fiora. Johnson Winter & Slattery firm details JWS is a national corporate law firm with 34 partners, and offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. The firm represents major private and public sector business organisations in a number of specialist practice areas. The firm is resourced with a bias to senior lawyers with exceptional legal and commercial expertise, ensuring timely decision-making and the delivery of superior legal services. Media contacts: Peter Slattery, Managing Partner Phone. +61 (8) 8239 7114 Mobile. +61 419 819 348 Email. peter.slattery@jws.com.au Alison Hatch, Communications Manager Phone. +61 (8) 8239 7148 Mobile. + 61 410 625 001 Email. alison.hatch@jws.com.au

Download: JWS MEDIA RELEASE_30_01_08.pdf (82 Kb)

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