Hot Tuna wanted to have a presence in the Middle East but CFO Ange Hicks says it didn't have enough resources. So, the surf apparel company appointed a distributor.

The AIM-listed group is about to re-launch after a hiatus of several years and is pushing its product into new regions such as the Middle East.

“We chose to use a distributor there because we’re only a start-up company,” Hicks says. “It’s a little bit difficult because we only have limited resources in terms of staff. It’s easier to sell to one person who has their own customers.”

Hot Tuna appointed the distributor after conducting a lot of due diligence. “Potential distributors have to have prepared business plans, they need to submit those plans to us and have previous relationships with reputable people that we can check,” Hicks says.

The distributor has agreed to build a concept or flagship store in the next 12 to 18 months. Hicks says that store will probably be in Dubai.

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Tags: hot tuna, flagship store, due diligence, surf apparel, ange hicks, distributor, aim, middle east,

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