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  Brenda West will serve as president of the combined companies

Press Release:

CYPRESS, CA. — October 6, 2010— Manhattan Beachwear, Inc. today announced its acquisition of Apparel Ventures, Inc., a leading provider of junior, contemporary and women’s swimwear. Apparel Ventures swimwear brands include a large portfolio of proprietary and licensed brands, distributed to national department stores, luxury boutiques, and specialty swimwear chains.  Proprietary brands include La Blanca and 2 Bamboo.  Licensed brands include Ralph Lauren, Trina Turk, ABS, Puma and Rampage.

Allan Colvin, CEO of Manhattan Beachwear, Inc., will lead the combined entity which will operate under the Manhattan Beachwear Inc. name.  “This acquisition brings together two established and respected names in the swimwear industry. Merging the companies into one joint entity will allow us to maximize our strengths and offer our customer base an unmatched brand and product mix,” said Colvin.

For the present time, Manhattan Beachwear, Inc will continue to have offices and shipping facilities at the two companies’ headquarters in Cypress and Los Angeles, CA, although the company will operate under one management team. Brenda West, will serve as President and, Ron Russell and Jeff Pofsky were named corporate vice presidents of the combined entity.

About Manhattan Beachwear

With over twenty year’s experience, Manhattan Beachwear continues to grow its current roster of brands while still servicing its existing customers in the Junior, Contemporary, and Missy markets. Manhattan Beachwear designs, manufactures, and markets under licenses for Kenneth Cole New York, Kenneth Cole Reaction, Nanette Lepore, Hermanny by ViX and Sofia by ViX— the styles and fits of these brands are geared for the Designer/Contemporary/Young Contemporary customer. The licensed brand Hobie is marketed to the Young Contemporary and Surf customer. Company owned brands include The Bikini Lab, 24th and Ocean and Maxine of Hollywood. All of these swimwear brands are sold to a mix of major department stores, as well as the best surf and swim specialty stores nationwide, including Sak’s Fifth Ave., Bloomingdales, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Dillard’s, Victoria’s Secret, Swim ’n Sport and Everything But Water.