Ellis issue doesn't restrict Charlie's

Charlie's marketing plan remains "on target" despite the publicity surrounding the Marc Ellis drug conviction.

Company chairman Roger Gower said the conviction of Ellis - who was the co-founder and public face of Charlie's juice - had not prompted the company to make any changes to its marketing strategy.

Gower refused to say whether Ellis would continue to front advertising campaigns for the brand.

He said Charlie's had worked for almost a year to develop a new marketing strategy that reflected the growth of the brand, which would be introduced in the next couple of months.

The public attention surrounding Ellis' conviction on Friday - for possessing the drug ecstasy - had not caused any great "schism" or changes to those plans.

As Charlie's grew, and became more corporate, it was always the case that the brand would grow to be bigger than just one person.

Gower said he was not prepared to give the details of the new marketing campaign before it was launched.

That included making any comment on whether Ellis would remain involved.

Ellis resigned as a director of Charlie's on Friday and is no longer employed by the company in any capacity.

He remains one of the company's cornerstone shareholders with Charlie's co-founder and managing director Stefan Lepionka.

Charlie's listed on the NZX on July 14.

Its shares closed at 13c yesterday.

* An NZX notice yesterday said Charlie's had failed to file preliminary results for the half-year to June 30. Those results actually relate to Spectrum Resources - the shell company Charlie's took over when it listed.

Charlie's Group is not expected to file its first results until next year.