Jupi Corporation Expands International Empire With Licensing Deal for Pop-Culture Phenomenon 'The Biggest Loser'

LOS ANGELES, April 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading international designer Bruno Schiavi and his apparel company, Jupi Corporation, will design and distribute a range of athletic apparel inspired by the lifestyle of NBC's hit weight loss show, The Biggest Loser.  As an expert on body image and self esteem-building through his highly popular international brands, Schiavi is a natural fit to design and distribute a product created to motivate people to look and feel their best. The deal was announced today by Jupi Corp. CEO, Bruno Schiavi. The Biggest Loser line is licensed through NBC Universal Television Consumer Products Group and Reveille LLC.  The deal was secured by JTMG, the licensing agency for NBC Universal Television Consumer Products Group.

"I am very excited to be partnering with NBC/Reveille on designing The Biggest Loser athletic apparel line. My inspiration has been to create a functional and fashionable collection for women and men – that allows them to look and feel great. I want this collection to encourage and inspire people to take the first step to living a healthier and more active lifestyle," said Bruno Schiavi.

The Biggest Loser Athletic Apparel collection will feature a range of styles and fabric that are uniquely designed to both motivate the consumer and maximize the work-out experience and in particular, meet the needs of those individuals who may need extra support to accommodate their current weight or their recent weight loss. Launching in stores this fall, the product will also be featured on The Biggest Loser when the new season begins in September, 2010.

"We are really excited to introduce a fashionable line of workout clothing, which will offer an excellent fit  and will flatter all shapes and sizes," said Kim Niemi, Senior Vice President, NBC Universal Television Consumer Products Group.  "Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for anyone to adopt The Biggest Loser lifestyle at home, in the gym or outdoors."

"The inspiration for developing a Biggest Loser line comes from our contestants, who complain about how little choice exists out there as they fight to get back on track," said Mark Koops, Managing Director, Co-Head of Domestic Television for Reveille.  "We have tried to ensure that it is at once great looking, affordable and practical and that it will help kick-start many to make a healthy lifestyle change."

Schiavi's expertise in the creation of international brands was the perfect combination when Reveille and NBC Universal were looking for an apparel licensing partner for the highly successful series. Designer Bruno Schiavi's global lingerie market experience with his shapewear collections have revolutionized this highly competitive category.  Now with Schiavi's expansion into athletic outerwear, consumers will be the winners with accessible, motivational and affordable merchandise. The entire innovative launch collection comprises of 27 pieces. The collection is being created to inspire and motivate people of all ages, and will incorporate comfort and lifestyle enhancing details for maximum mobility.

ABOUT THE BIGGEST LOSER

"The Biggest Loser" on NBC airs on Tuesdays from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. (ET/PT). The first reality series where everybody loses, "The Biggest Loser" challenges and encourages overweight contestants to shed pounds in a safe and recommended manner through comprehensive diet and exercise as they compete for a grand prize of $250,000. Hosted by Alison Sweeney ("Days of our Lives"), the series provides the contestants with challenges, temptations, weigh-ins and eliminations until the final contestant remains to claim the title of "the biggest loser." Each team works out under the supervision of professional trainers Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper. "The Biggest Loser" is a production of Reveille LLC, 25/7 Productions and 3 Ball Productions.

Beyond the U.S. where more than 100 episodes of the show have aired, "The Biggest Loser" has become a worldwide hit appearing in over 90 countries and produced in 25 countries. Since its debut in 2004, "The Biggest Loser" has grown to become a standalone health and lifestyle brand by developing tools and products inspired by the show and approved by its doctors and experts. Anchored by the online, subscription-based extension of the show, Biggestloserclub.com, "The Biggest Loser" consumer products program has generated over $100 million in spending, with presence at more than 25,000 major retailers to date. The program currently features a wide variety of health and fitness products including "The Biggest Loser" video game for Wii and Nintendo DS & DSi, "The Biggest Loser" Resort at Fitness Ridge, which is a full-service, destination health & fitness spa, "The Biggest Loser" Meal Plan, a New York Times best-selling books series, a best-selling fitness DVD series, a line of appliances, fitness equipment, protein supplements and several other health and lifestyle based products. "The Biggest Loser" was recognized as a top brand of the year in Advertising Age's 2008 Marketing 50. Check out www.biggestloser.com for more information.

ABOUT BRUNO SCHIAVI – JUPI INTERNATIONAL

Named in the BRW Young Rich List for the last six years as a top Australian Fashion Entrepreneur, Bruno Schiavi has carved himself a unique position in the fashion industry and business world. Just nine years ago Bruno Schiavi started with assets of only $2000, since that day this creative and very intuitive fashion aficionado has grown to position Jupi Corp as a global powerhouse. In August 2002 Schiavi launched the anabella line of lingerie followed by the sell out release of Delta by anabella in October 2004 in conjunction with Australian star Delta Goodrem. Schiavi joined other partnerships with icons & celebrities such as Priscilla Presley in 2005, Dr Robert Rey, renowned Plastic Surgeon and star of "Dr 90210" in 2007, Cricket fast bowler Brett Lee and pop star Janet Jackson in 2008. Moving into high fashion but with the current economic climate in mind he has recently teamed with Australian designer Peter Morrissey to add a new fashion outer wear brand to his already impressive stable.  Jupi International has retail collections in United States, Canada, South America, United Kingdom, Europe and Australia.

ABOUT NBC UNIVERSAL TELEVISION DVD, MUSIC, AND CONSUMER PRODUCTS GROUP

NBC Universal is a leader in providing entertainment programming to the domestic and international marketplaces. NBC Universal Television DVD, Music, and Consumer Products Group manages all global ancillary television business endeavors for the NBC Universal Television Group, including third-party home entertainment distribution, consumer products, musical soundtracks, special markets projects and the NBC Universal Online Store.

ABOUT REVEILLE

Reveille is a leading independent studio focused on exploiting worldwide intellectual property rights in scripted and unscripted television and digital entertainment, and a world leader in creating integrated marketing opportunities for advertisers. Reveille is known for popular and award-winning hit series including THE BIGGEST LOSER, THE OFFICE, THE BURIED LIFE, UGLY BETTY, THE TUDORS, TABATHA'S SALON TAKEOVER, SHEAR GENIUS and PARENTAL CONTROL. Reveille has developed many original online series for brands including the series FIT TO BOOM for Subway and IT'S EVERYBODY'S BUSINESS WITH JACK AND SUZY WELCH for Microsoft. Upcoming television series include MASTERCHEF, GIGANTIC, LOSING IT WITH JILLIAN and BREAKTHROUGH WITH TONY ROBBINS. Through its distribution arm, Shine International, Reveille distributes its extensive library of programming to more than 150 countries. Reveille is part of the Shine Group, one of the world's foremost multinational entertainment and drama companies.

SOURCE Jupi Corporation