(Yicai Global) Feb. 22 -- Paul Frank did not renew its contract with its Chinese operator Grand Union International Trading in September last year, due to a number of defaults, and will reassess its layout in the China market, the US fashion giant said yesterday.

Grand Union breached the previous contracts several times, greatly damaging Paul Frank’s brand image and reputation, the head of the company’s China arm said on the company WeChat account.

Paul Frank, which first entered the China market in 2009, has applied to license its brand in China and is optimizing the licensing system, setting up a supplier certification system as well as creating an intellectual property alliance so as to fully optimize its operations in China, the person said.

In June 2015, Qingdao, eastern Shandong province-based Grand Union paid the brand's management firm Saban Brands several hundreds of millions of Chinese yuan, equivalent to tens of millions of US dollars, for the exclusive rights to Paul Frank products in China.

Swiss licensing firm Futurity Brands acquired Paul Frank from Saban at the end of 2020 and registered the company in Hong Kong.

Paul Frank's WeChat account was only certified in December last year.

Editor: Kim Taylor