The Brunotti group is enlarging the scope of its business with the launch of a new women’s fashion brand, called Shore, as well as an apparel line for its Magic Marine label of water sports equipment. The Dutch company’s expansion is part of a wider overhaul which has already led to a management reshuffle and a marketing shift for Brunotti, the action sports brand that still represents the bulk of its revenues.
These new ventures are orchestrated by Max Blom, who spent 15 years at O’Neill Europe until 2002, and then moved on to Steps, a Dutch fashion retailer. Blom joined forces in June 2004 with Henk Bergsma, the largest shareholder in Brunotti. The two began by redefining the positioning of Brunotti, which generated sales of about €20 million last year - a slight dip due to sluggish sales in the Netherlands. Brunotti is giving up its ties with Formula One and returning to more genuine, surf and snow-oriented marketing investments.
At the same time, Brunotti has started changing some of its European distributors, in a bid to cater to a wider audience. Among the new deals is an agreement in the UK with Nigel Codron, former managing director of Oxbow in the country. He set up his own agency, Blue Brands UK, after Oxbow was taken over by Lafuma and the British offices of the two companies were merged. Brunotti was previously sold in the UK by DNA, another agency that went out of business. Further deals are pending in France and Italy, which Brunotti previously handled itself on a small scale. A new distributor has been hired for Spain and Portugal, while the company has ended its deal with its former partners in Greece and is on the look-out for a replacement.
Meanwhile, the company is seeking to diversify its business with Shore, a women’s fashion brand which is sold exclusively through fashion stores. It got off to a slow start when it was launched in the Netherlands as a sportswear brand last year, but it has now been re-launched with much more success as a fashion brand. Shore is to be sold by Godron’s agency in the UK, but Blom is seeking separate, fashion-oriented distributors in other European countries. The Brunotti group is targeting sales of at least €3 million for Shore this year, and up to €10 million annually in three years’ time. A footwear range may be added in the near future, since Brunotti already sells footwear under its own brand, in collaboration with Eegim, the Dutch trading company.
Brunotti’s latest move was the development-up of an apparel line for Magic Marine, a brand which currently has a stable turnover of about €6 million around the world. The apparel range is meant to at least double sales under this brand in about two years’ time, competing with the likes of North Sails and Gaastra. The inaugural range will be presented in a few months, and it will be sold separately from the equipment.
Blom himself has taken a 33 percent interest in Shore, while Brunotti Europe holds the remaining 66 percent. Blom is also negotiating with Adriaan Rooduijn, one of the founders of Brunotti Europe, to take over his 35 percent stake in the company. Bergsma currently holds 49 percent of Brunotti, while the rest is spread between Rooduijn and other managers.
