The PEINE Group expands partnership with the Shandong Ruyi Group

Wilhelmshaven, Germany (ots) - The PEINE Group, one of the leading
European makers of men's fashion with the brands BARUTTI and
MASTERHAND, has expanded its new partnership with the largest Chinese
men's clothing group, SHANDONG RUYI TECHNOLOGY GROUP CO., LTD. in
Jining City, China. The agreement includes expansion into the Asian
markets as well as securing of further corporate financing for the
PEINE Group among other things.

After the majority takeover of the PEINE Group by Shandong Ruyi in
January 2014, it has now been possible to agree on the basic points
for future collaboration. First these will essentially include the
following strategic and operational fields:

. The launch of the BARUTTI and MASTERHAND brands on the Asian
market
. Cooperation and support in strategic acquisitions in Europe as
well as the securing of further corporate financing
. Close collaboration in the area of research and product
development

"Whether and to what extent the PEINE Group will shift some areas
of its production to the new parent company is not yet decided, on
the other hand. We will work toward this topic with great care and
caution," stated Jan D. Leuze, CEO of the PEINE Group. "We have
complete freedom of action when it comes to operations. The sole
crucial element is what the customer and the market expects of us and
how we can best fulfil this."

Leuze also emphasised that Ruyi as new majority partner also
stands completely behind the PEINE Group financially and will
actively accompany its further growth. This also includes a general
guarantee for liabilities submitted by Qiu Yafu, Chairman of the
Shandong Ruyi Group on 4 April 2014 for the current and future
liabilities of the PEINE Group, which at the end of last year had
started lurching economically. "With this binding letter of intent we
plan to re- establish the partially lost trust of our suppliers and
also to give a clear signal to the market," Leuze stated. After a
difficult spring season, the PEINE Group is now again "on course", is
working intensively on new NOS programmes and on other innovative
collections with which lost ground is to be made up and which,
according to Leuze, "will make the market sit up and take notice."

About the PEINE Group

With its BARUTTI and MASTERHAND brands, the PEINE Group is one of
the leading European specialists for sophisticated men's fashion in
the mid-to-higher price segment. Originating from the clothing
company founded in Wilhelmshaven in 1948, BAWI, the company has been
a fixed component of the German men's clothing market for more than
50 years. PEINE sells its products worldwide in some 40 countries to
almost 1,500 active customers, including such renowned names as Peek
& Cloppenburg, Hirmer, Engelhorn, Breuninger and Leffers. Shandong
Ruyi Group became a majority partner of the company in January 2014.

About the Shandong Ruyi Group

SHANDONG RUYI is one of the world's leading textile groups, with
over 20 production operations ranging from the spinning mill to the
weaving mill on to the finishing of high-quality wools and cotton. In
2013 the company realised sales of over USD 5 billion and employs
around 40,000 people worldwide. In Europe SHANDONG RUYI has been
known above all as a supplier of sophisticated worsted and carded
yarn fabrics. In Europe the Shandong Ruyi Group already has
shareholdings, among others, in the Harris Tweed weaver "Carloway
Mills" in Scotland.

Contact:
PEINE GmbH
Jan D. Leuze
Managing Partner
Tel: +49 (0) 4421 484 - 0
Fax: +49 (0) 4421 484 - 238
E-mail: info@peinegmbh.com
Internet: www.peinegmbh.com