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THE AMERICA'S CUP DRESSES ITALIAN
Rome - (Ign) - The clothing image of the next America's Cup will be all Italian. On 8 March in Valencia, where the great international sailing challenge will take place, there was in fact signed a three-year agreement between Michel Bonnefous, CEO of the 32nd America's Cup organisation, and Giulio Sala, CEO of Murphy&Nye. According to this agreement, Murphy&Nye (www.murphynye.com) has acquired an exclusive world licence for the trademark '32nd America's Cup', for the creation of the official clothing collections for men, women and children. These will be commercialised through its own distribution network, with around 7000 points of sale and 200 single brand shops, from June 2005 to 2007, when the great competition will take place.
"We are very proud of this success, which sees our company representing Italian products at one of the most prestigious sporting events in the world", commented Murphy&Nye, who are part of the Sixty industrial group from Abruzzo. The agreement, which provides for an investment of €7.5 million, will in fact make it possible to enormously increase Murphy&Nye's fame and help it achieve new objectives of international expansion. Moreover, in support of the project an unprecedented series of commercial and media initiatives for the young Italian brand will be planned.
Sixty spa was established in Chieti, in Abruzzo, in 1989, with its first brand, Energie, which started life simply as the name of a new clothing shop in Rome, but then became a highly successful label in its own right. Today, 16 years after its foundation, the group can rely on a turnover of over €700 million, three quarters of which is realised on international markets through a series of brands of growing success, not least Murphy&Nye, destined to "dress" the America's Cup. Moreover, the Italian style of Murphy&Nye is perfectly in line with the image and style of the America's Cup and, similarly, Murphy&Nye has significant experience in this competition, having already been the partner of various important teams (Il Moro di Venezia and Team New Zealand). Moreover, the company has been a pioneer in bringing the Cup to the consumer and now has a great opportunity to accompany Europe's first America's Cup with high-quality elegant clothing.
With a rich heritage and tradition whose roots are in far-off 1851, the America's Cup is often defined as the world's oldest sporting trophy. It spent 150 years in America, Australia and New Zealand, and today the legend continues in Europe, where the 32nd edition will be held, in Valencia in Spain. A 4-year programme of Acts will see the Cup travel towards the continent, contributing to increasing interest in the event and allowing competitors to take part in important regattas before the selection processes for the Louis Vuitton Cup and the America's Cup Match in 2007. This is a great opportunity for the Sixty group, whose mid-term strategies are focused on a further expansion of the distribution network. Murphy&Nye is today a brand with an excellent growth potential: in 2004 this was translated into an increase in turnover of 17% compared to 2003, up to 103 million euros. This was made possible above all by the development of retail and international markets. And it is precisely its strong retail network which will increase the value of the partnership, ensuring the distribution of the collections and further promoting the event on a worldwide scale.
Starting out with a collection of technical sportswear, today Murphy&Nye presents a complete range of menswear, womenswear and children's footwear. The company has four branches, in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Belgium, 130 employees, divided between two offices (Chieti, the headquarters, and Padova), and produces 2.5 million items of clothing per year.
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