Perry Ellis International Enters Into a Licensing Agreement in Saudi Arabia for Original Penguin

MIAMI, Jan. 06, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Perry Ellis International, Inc. (Nasdaq:PERY), announced today that it has entered into a license agreement with Al Matjar Al Watany Trading Establishment granting rights to design and distribute Original Penguin by Munsingwear® casual sportswear in Saudi Arabia. Targeted distributions will be in Al Matjar Al Watany retail stores as well as mall and street retail locations. A social media launching campaign will follow in Saudi Arabia to increase brand awareness and educate the public about Original Penguin’s brand attributes.

The Original Penguin is an iconic American brand that mixes sportswear and contemporary fashion appealing to a style-savvy consumer who's into details, but doesn't take himself too seriously. Original Penguin pays homage to its brand heritage, while staying culturally relevant in their global markets. The brand reworks their archive of mid-century classics to reflect today's lifestyle without compromising that heritage or the craftsmanship that established the Original Penguin name.

“We are thrilled about the partnership with Matjar Al Watany and look forward to working with their team to offer Original Penguin’s lifestyle product while continuing the expansion of our global reach,” commented George Feldenkreis, Chairman & CEO of Perry Ellis International.

Matjar Al Watany Owner and President Eng. Salah Mohammed Al Shaikh remarked, “Matjar Al Watany is very pleased to formalize an agreement with Perry Ellis, to launch the Original Penguin brand within the Saudi Arabian market. Given our experience of the fashion sportswear business, we are encouraged to add a full lifestyle brand to our portfolio."

For more information about Perry Ellis International, Inc. and the Company's entire portfolio of brands, please visit www.PERY.com.

About Perry Ellis International
Perry Ellis International, Inc. is a leading designer, distributor and licensor of a broad line of high quality men's and women's apparel, accessories and fragrances. The Company's collection of dress and casual shirts, golf sportswear, sweaters, dress pants, casual pants and shorts, jeans wear, active wear, dresses and men's and women's swimwear is available through all major levels of retail distribution. The Company, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, owns a portfolio of nationally and internationally recognized brands, including: Perry Ellis®, Original Penguin® by Munsingwear®, Laundry by Shelli Segal®, Rafaella®, Cubavera®, Ben Hogan®, Savane®, Grand Slam®, John Henry®,  Manhattan®, Axist®, Jantzen® and Farah®.  The Company enhances its roster of brands by licensing trademarks from third parties, including: Nike® and Jag® for swimwear, and Callaway®, PGA TOUR®, and Jack Nicklaus® for golf apparel. Additional information on the Company is available at http://www.pery.com.

About Al Matjar Al Watany Trading Establishment 

Matjar Al Watany was founded in 1953 by Mr. Mohammad Yousaf Sulaiman Al Sheikh as a general trading company.  In 1980, the business was diversified towards the sports industry. Mr. Salah M. Sulaiman acquired the position of sole proprietor of the organization in 1990 and established a sports retail chain under the name "Matjar Al Watany" – National Stores. Today, the organization operates in two segments of business: The Retail Segment is comprised of 40 stores in all major urban cities as well as in the country market. The Wholesale segment operates through branch offices in Jeddah and Al-Khobar and caters to KSA, Egypt, Kuwait & Bahrain.

Anthony Pessok
Managing Director - Licensing & International Development
Tel: 3531 405 38 40 
[email protected]

Mohammed Bamatraf
00966 13 8951820 ext. 118/168
[email protected]

Chris Pineda
00966 13 8951820 ext. 133
[email protected]