Jucy to use $500,000 prize to launch into the United States

Media release – October 31, 2011

Jucy to use $500,000 prize to launch into the United States

Jucy, the Australasian tourism company, will use the $500,000 from its latest national award to launch into the United States, chief executive Tim Alpe said today.

Jucy was last week named one of four New Zealand companies to receive funding as a result of winning the 2011 University of Auckland Business School Entrepreneurs’ Challenge.

Nine years ago, Jucy started out with 35 Daewoo cars bought off the Auckland Hospital Board. Today they have 2500 vehicles and a hotel in Auckland called JUCY Hotel, a Milford Sound Cruise company called Jucy Cruize and are now preparing to launch into the US in January.

``Jucy is a business with one clear goal and that is to be a global tourism brand. I think the entrepreneur award judges loved the Jucy story and love our passion for the business. They also can see the potential in us Jucyfing the world,’’ Alpe said.

``We’re totally excited about launching into the US. No one has really ever before launched a product like Jucy into the US rental market. Los Angeles will be out headquarters and we’ll also begin by open depots in San Francisco and Las Vegas.’’

Jucy will start in the US with 100 Chrysler Town and Country vans that they will convert into Jucy campervans using their manufacturing business based in Auckland called JUCY BY DESIGN. The goal is to build the JUCY brand in California before spreading into other parts of the US.

Alpe was last year named the 2010 Ernst & Young NZ Entrepreneur of the Year. He represented New Zealand at the World Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in Monte Carlo in May this year.

Tim Alpe and his brother Dan have lifted annual revenue to $40 million and today Jucy is one of Australasia’s fastest tourism brands and they have plans for further expansions in 2012.

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