ACM sign Murphy&Nye

Clothing deal done for America's Cup 2007

On 8 March a three-year agreement was signed in Valencia by Michel Bonnefous, CEO of the organisers of the 32nd America’s Cup, and Guilio Sala, Managing Director of Murphy&Nye.

As a result of this prestigious contract, Murphy&Nye has acquired an exclusive world licence to design and produce official men’s, women’s and junior collections for the 32nd America’s Cup. These will be marketed through its own distribution network (over 2,500 points-of-purchase, including multi-brand boutiques, shop-in-shop corners, and more than 90 Murphy&Nye stores) from June 2005 until 2007, when the competition takes place.

“We’re very proud of this success, which means our company will be representing Made in Italy in one of the world’s most prestigious sports events - says Sala -. This agreement gives us the chance to boost Murphy&Nye’s reputation enormously. This operation will provide a major driving force for reaching our objectives of international expansion. Moreover, the project will be supported by a series of sales and communications initiatives without precedent for the brand”.

“The ‘Made in Italy’ style of Murphy&Nye is a natural fit with the image and style of the America’s Cup,” said Gavin Brown, Licensing Manager for the 32nd America’s Cup. “Like the America’s Cup, Murphy&Nye has a long history and in fact, it has worked with numerous teams in the modern era of the Cup (Il Moro di Venezia and Team New Zealand). Murphy & Nye were pioneers in bringing the America’s Cup to the consumer, We think this is a great opportunity to outfit the first European America’s Cup in high quality, stylish clothing.”

“Our mid-term strategies are focusing on further expansion of our sales network," says Sala. "We are aware that at this moment in time Murphy&Nye is a brand with great growth potential: 2004 saw a 17% increase in turnover compared to 2003, for business worth 103 million Euros, thanksin large part to the company retail network and international markets. Certainly our strong distribution channels will enhance this partnership, ensuring diffusion of collections and attracting even more global attention for the event”, concludes Sala.

Murphy&Nye is part of the Gruppo Sixty, an enormous group which distributes in excess of 22 million items of clothing a year in some 90 countries all over the world, with an overall turnover of approximately 640 million euros.

The company has four subsidiaries (France, Germany, UK and Benelux); it employs 130 people, located in two branches (Chieti, the headquarters, and Padua); it produces 2.5 million garments a year.