Charlie’s shares soar on Woolworths deal
Charlie's new "hero product" proves its worth, shares in the juice maker climb 22.7%.
Charlie’s Group has struck another key distribution deal in Australia, signing up supermarket giant Woolworths for its soft-drinks range to compliment an earlier deal with Coles supermarkets.
Shares in Charlie’s [NZX:CHA], which have gained 110% in the past six months, climbed 5c, (22.7%) to 27c on the news.
The company said Woolworths will initially stock its Old Fashioned Lemonade quencher across all six Australian states.
Chief executive Stefan Lepionka said Australian consumers had taken a liking to the quencher drink, which had fast become the company’s “hero product”.
The Woolworths deal could see the quencher range comprising approximately 70% of total volume in Australia.
''We now have a very big foot in the Australian market and this latest deal will undoubtedly make our Australian business bigger than New Zealand for us,'' Mr Lepionka said in a statement.
''The Australian beverage market is very large and hungry for innovation.''
Charlie’s Group recently reported a 56% jump in first half product, mainly on the back of the Coles deal.
It now has 8.1% brand market share of the chilled juice category in Coles, while Charlie’s Old Fashioned Lemonade has entered the top 10 products in its category – competing with more than 160 products.
Duncan Bridgeman
Tue, 05 Apr 2011
Tue, 05 Apr 2011
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Charlie’s shares soar on Woolworths deal
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