| Tue 20 Jul 2010, 14:15 | | LAF - Lonrho fish division commences delivery to Costco opening up the USA |
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LAF
LOLAF
LAF - Lonrho fish division commences delivery to Costco opening up the USA
retail market
LONRHO PLC
(Formerly Lonrho Africa Plc)
(Incorporated and registered in England and Wales)
(Registration number 2805337)
(Share code: LAF; ISIN number: GB0002568813)
("Lonrho" or the "Company")
Lonrho fish division commences delivery to Costco opening up the USA retail
market
Lonrho Plc ( AIM : LONR ) is pleased to announce that following it`s recent
acquisition of Oceanfresh Seafoods in South Africa, (Oceanfresh) announced on
the 7th June 2010, and following a trial program, Oceanfresh has successfully
negotiated and now implemented a comprehensive rollout of one of it`s
sustainable fish product brands `Cape Hake Fillets` into USA retail giant
Costco.
Hake, is one of South Africa`s strongest commercial fish species and has been
extremely popular in Europe for many years but has historically been neglected
by the North American retail market due to a lack of logistical capabilities.
Oceanfresh currently catches and sources hake from the South African trawler
sector, which operates under the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification,
thus ensuring an audited environmentally sensitive product for the Costco club
members.
For the past 8 months, in conjunction with Oceanfresh, Costco`s Los Angeles
region has been engaged in educating consumers regarding the benefits of
sustainable seafood choices, based around the availability of South African,
wild caught hake. The pilot project commenced in 10 stores within the region and
will roll out into the additional 40 Los Angeles regional stores over the coming
months. Lonrho`s support in building the Oceanfresh / Costco project has
allowed Oceanfresh to also start supplying to the San Diego and Texas regions
with the Mid West (Chicago) region planned for roll out early 2011.
Since becoming a Lonrho business, Oceanfresh has geared up production to meet
the additional shipments required for the roll out and cater for this increased
demand. Scheduled deliveries have now commenced for the USA during July.
Oceanfresh is a proud member of the South African Sustainable Seafood Initiative
(SASSI) and has environmentally sensitive seafood policies as a core fundamental
of its business practice. Hake is listed on the SASSI green list as a preferred
recommendation for seafood consumers.
David Lenigas, Lonrho`s Executive Chairman stated:
`Lonrho believes that the North American marketplace has significant potential
demand for produce from Africa. The results of our 8 month trial with Costco has
demonstrated that the production and delivery of fish from Africa to the US
market is something that consumers are keen to see, especially given Lonrho`s
total commitment to sustainable fishing practices.`
LONRHO ENQUIRIES
Lonrho Plc +44 (0)20 7016 5105
David Lenigas, Executive Chairman +44 (0)7881 825 378
Geoffrey White, Chief Executive +44 (0)7717 307 308
Officer
David Armstrong, Finance Director +44 (0)7833 054 693
Pelham Bell Pottinger PR
Charles Vivian +44 (0) 20 7861 3126
+44 (0) 7977 297903
James MacFarlane +44 (0) 20 7861 3864
+44 (0) 7841 672 831
Beaumont Cornish Limited (Nomad)
Rosalind Hill Abrahams +44 (0) 20 7628 3396
Roland Cornish +44 (0) 20 7628 3396
20 July 2010
South African Sponsor
Java Capital (Proprietary) Limited
Date: 20/07/2010 14:15:01 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
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