COMMENT: What now for Aria UK?

Does the departure of the key man in what is a very small operation, signal a change of direction for Aria in the UK?

As a brand that has struggled to get back to its eighties zenith, Aria had become more successful as a distributor of other brands. But the departure of Martin Hartwell and several of said brands to Rosetti was a huge blow to the company. His successor and now the departing MD Matt Joule, has done a great job sticking his finger in the dam and helping the firm regain its footing in the UK and his work with the Aria brand itself has been commendable, but there was still much work to be done and growth to achieve, given the right level of ambition. 

His exit possibly signals a lack of commitment to having an established UK office and the firm is thought to have had discussions previously about seeking a distribution partner in the UK. Of couse, every international firm will look at the best possible option for the brand in a territory but if Aria is concerned about the cost of running a UK office then it wouldn’t be great surprise to see the brand hooking up with a partner in the UK soon. Several of them are probably reaching for phone right now.