Gotcha Signs Deal to Create Line of Girls’ Surf Wear

Gotcha International said Friday that it signed a $35-million licensing agreement with manufacturer Daisy of California to launch a new girls’ surf wear line and has an option to buy the South Pasadena company within the next three years.

Marvin Winkler, chief executive of Irvine-based Gotcha, declined to reveal the proposed purchase price.

Daisy, which has about 75 employees and annual sales of about $17 million, made girls’ clothing for the San Diego-based Hang Ten apparel company for 25 years, said owner Joseph Di Paulo. That licensing agreement expired in August and Hang Ten girls wear is now being manufactured by Koral Industries in Vernon.

“It will be great for [Gotcha] to add the extra volume and expertise that they bring,” Winkler said.

Di Paulo said he intends to sell his company simply because he is ready for retirement after 40 years in business.

“I’ve been at it too long,” he said. “I’ll be 71 in November and I’ve had about enough.”

The new Gotcha product will target 7- to 16-year-old girls and will be sold in surf shops and specialty and department stores by the summer of 1999, Winkler said.

Gotcha makes clothes under the Gotcha, MCD and GirlStar brands. The new line will have a different look than GirlStar, which targets older girls and young women, Winkler said.

“It’s much more of a younger, active, beach lifestyle [line],” he said, “where GirlStar is much more fashion-driven.”

Friday’s news comes on the heels of Gotcha’s announcement last week that it has lined up $25 million to fuel its expansion plans.