Supreme, which owns several vaping brands including KiK and 88vape, said it has entered into an agreement for the disposal of the intellectual property of T-Juice (including the Red Astaire e-liquid brand) to an associated company of La Vape Professional Distribution, one of France's largest wholesalers of electronic cigarettes and e-liquids for €4.5 million (£4m).
The Manchester-based manufacturer and distributor of fast-moving consumer products has also entered into a new strategic partnership with LVP under which Supreme retains the exclusive manufacturing rights to T-Juice with minimum €15 million of revenue over five years for Supreme.
The T-Juice brand was originally acquired as part of the Cuts Ice asset deal which completed in August last year where the total value of the intangible assets acquired was £1.4 million.
Supreme said the agreements will enable it to focus on its core manufacturing expertise and margin expansion, while de-risking both European distribution and expansion. Besides, the strategic partnership with LVP will provide future cross-sell opportunities for the wider Supreme portfolio, it added.
“We are delighted to be entering into a long-term partnership with LVP, who are ideally placed to fully capitalise on the strength of the brand across Europe given their extensive and well-established distribution,” Sandy Chadha, chief executive of Supreme, commented.
“These agreements will enable Supreme to do what it does best - to further leverage our manufacturing footprint and maximise our margin potential across our product mix in the near term. Not only does this deliver a significant return on our initial investment, but we have secured a highly lucrative five-year manufacturing agreement, which ensures Supreme remains well positioned to fully capitalise with LVP on their established European market presence and sales footprint.”
Supreme supplies products across five key categories – batteries, lighting, vaping, sports nutrition & wellness, and branded household consumer goods – to over 10,000 retail outlets.
Brian McLister
