US designer and distributor of men's and women's apparel Perry Ellis International, Inc. has completed the acquisition of primarily all of the worldwide intellectual property of the leading California lifestyle company Gotcha International, including the Gotcha, GirlStar, MCD and Fishman logo trademarks and the intellectual property licence agreements for a purchase price of $12 million.

MCD will be re-launched focused on the action sports specialty market. The Spring 2007 programme will target the hardcore surf/skate consumer. "When originally created, this brand was very special because it was so focused," Ellison explained. "It filled an important niche when many of the popular brands moved on to the burgeoning mainstream surf market. That same niche exists today."

The Gotcha brand will be marketed as an accessible California lifestyle brand widely distributed to mid-tier and sporting goods accounts.

GirlStar will be distributed to better department stores, sporting goods and specialty accounts. The brand will be re-launched internally in the junior swimwear range, while licensee candidates are being interviewed for complimentary junior product lines.