The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc., the northeast department store chain, announced the signing of a license and design agreement with Mambo Graphics PTY LTD for the exclusive launch of the Mambo brand in the United States. Under the agreement, Mambo will design the collection while Bon-Ton will manage the sourcing, manufacturing, distribution and marketing of the line.
“We are very pleased about our partnership with Mambo Graphics. It is especially exciting to be the first retailer in the United States to offer this iconic Australian surfwear/streetwear brand,” commented Bud Bergren, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bon-Ton. “Mambo is one of the top surf and skate brands in the world and will be an exciting addition to our extensive portfolio of exclusive private and national brand offerings. It will offer a vast assortment of fun and artfully-designed products for our young customer.”
“We are thrilled to be joining forces with Bon-Ton,” added Angus Kingsmill, Managing Director of Mambo Graphics. “Our team is working with Bon-Ton to develop an exciting and unique collection for young men, juniors and children. We are confident Mambo will be loved by our American customers just as we are back home in Australia and in other parts of the globe.”
The Mambo brand will be in all stores beginning in the fall of 2011 and includes young men's, juniors and children's apparel, as well as accessories and swimwear. The collection will be launched with a media and marketing program during the back-to-school time frame.
The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc., with corporate headquarters in York, Pennsylvania and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, operates 275 department stores, which includes 11 furniture galleries, in 23 states in the Northeast, Midwest and upper Great Plains under the Bon-Ton, Bergner's, Boston Store, Carson Pirie Scott, Elder-Beerman, Herberger's and Younkers nameplates and, in the Detroit, Michigan area, under the Parisian nameplate.
Mambo Graphic PTY LLC is an Australian company established in 1984 and is owned by The Nervous Investor Group, a collective of creative and surfing entrepreneurs. Mambo has hosted major international music festivals, surfing events and has had its unique art exhibited in museums around the world. There have been several books written on Mambo, as well as a lead business TIME magazine article, and just last year, UK publication, Cult Street Wear, listed Mambo as one of the world's most influential apparel brands of the past 30 years alongside Nike, Adidas and A Bathing Ape.
