Passport Brands, Inc. Signs Partnership with Brandina The Original

NEW YORK, Jan. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Passport Brands, Inc. (Pink Sheets: ISAC) announced today the official signing of a partnership agreement with Brandina The Original, for the purpose of launching the Italian designer brand of handbags and accessories in the U.S.  The long term agreement partners the brand's creative, product development and marketing skills with the merchandising, operational and marketing skills of Passport Brands in the U.S. market.

Launched in Italy in 2005, the unique brand of bags and accessories now has 5 mono-brand stores that currently dot the coastal region of the country.  Brandina, the brain child of designer Marco Morisini and his wife, Barbara Marcolini, features original bags and shoe designs made from the stripe material traditionally used to build sun lounger chairs along the Adriatic.  The brand is surrounded by a strong evocative power: it is a tactile and visual experience that evokes the Italian coast with color, scents and vivacity.  The vision of the brand is to provide all consumers with the opportunity to experience this highly sensory part of the world.  For more information, visit the web site at brandinatheoriginal.com.

Brandina will be launched in the U.S. exclusively through Passport owned and operated boutiques appropriately named "Bottega Brandina".  The name reflects the merchandising strategy of having a variety of colors and patterns flow through the store on a regular, "first come, first served" basis.  Only the signature "brandina" blue and white combination remains from week to week in the store.

The "bottega" concept takes its inspiration from the authentic food and produce bottegas of Italy in which different items were "fresh' every day and the consumer purchased what was new and available that day.

Designer and founder, Marco Morisini said, "The store is designed as a real container of ideas, creativity and style.  The spaces will showcase products and ideas that stimulate curiosity, deliver a sensory experience and make all who cross the threshold of the space smile!"

Bob Stec, Passport Brands CEO added, "Brandina the original is a perfect fit for Passport Brands' premium niche brand strategy.  Marco and Barbara have done an amazing job of creating and executing a true lifestyle concept that is fresh, exciting and fun.  We believe that Brandina will be a long term lifestyle concept in this country and around the world."

Passport Brands expects to open the first several stores in second quarter of 2011 in high traffic destination cities around the U.S.  The company is also planning the use of e-commerce, pop up stores and mobile retailing to quickly expand the brand.

Brandina the original is the proprietary creation of designer Marco Morisini.  Marco was born in Pesaro, Italy.  His career includes working for Benetton and the Maestro of image, Oliviero Toscani, along with collaborations with Alberto Ferretti, Pollini, Authier, Iceberg and others.  He has also worked creatively on collaborations for Ferrari Ateliers and Maserati.

Passport Brands, Inc.

Passport Brands, Inc. (formerly I.C. Isaacs) is a designer, merchandiser and marketer of upper-end niche branded apparel and accessories sold in leading department and specialty stores.  The company operates a disciplined and focused marketing and sourcing platform for a diverse growing portfolio of both licensed and owned brands.  U.S. marketed brands currently include the "European Blue Line" of Marithe & Francois Girbaud for young men, Brandina The Original, Italian coast inspired unique handbags and accessories, and Flow Society, authentic lacrosse lifestyle gear for young men, women and boys, which is owned by Passport Brands.  The company is growing a stable of sustainable niche brands across higher end categories and consumer segments through a combination of their internal merchandising and marketing skills and its financial and logistics partnership with Samsung.  For more information please visit the company web site at www.passportbrandsinc.com; www.liveontheflygirbaud.com; www.flowsocietylacrosse.com; www.brandinatheoriginal.com.

The information posted in this release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or anticipated.

SOURCE Passport Brands, Inc.