PRIVACY POLICY

Akina Trading Ltd ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect your personal information in compliance with the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020.

This policy applies to our website, www.brands.co.nz (the "Site").

Effective Date: 22 September 2025

SECTION 1 - WHAT DO WE DO WITH YOUR INFORMATION?

When you purchase something from our store, as part of the buying and selling process, we collect the personal information you give us such as your name, delivery address, and email address.

When you browse our store, we also automatically receive your computer’s internet protocol (IP) address in order to provide us with information that helps us learn about your browser and operating system.

Email marketing: With your express permission, we may send you emails about our store, new products, and other updates.

SECTION 2 - CONSENT

How do you get my consent? When you provide us with personal information to complete a transaction, verify your credit card, place an order, arrange for a delivery, or return a purchase, we imply that you consent to our collecting it and using it for that specific reason only.

If we ask for your personal information for a secondary reason, like marketing, we will either ask you directly for your expressed consent or provide you with an opportunity to say no.

How do I withdraw my consent? If after you opt-in, you change your mind, you may withdraw your consent for us to contact you, for the continued collection, use or disclosure of your information, at any time, by contacting us at hello@brands.co.nz or mailing us at:

Akina Trading Ltd PO Box 4120 Mount Maunganui, 3149 New Zealand

SECTION 3 - DISCLOSURE

We may disclose your personal information if we are required by law to do so or if you violate our Terms of Service.

We may also disclose your personal information to third parties who assist us in providing services to you, such as courier companies for delivering your orders. We will only disclose the information necessary for them to perform their service.

SECTION 4 - SHOPIFY

Our store is hosted on Shopify Inc. They provide us with the online e-commerce platform that allows us to sell our products and services to you.

Your data is stored through Shopify’s data storage, databases and the general Shopify application. They store your data on a secure server behind a firewall. As Shopify is a global company, your data may be stored and processed on servers located outside of New Zealand.

Payment: If you choose a direct payment gateway to complete your purchase, then Shopify stores your credit card data. It is encrypted through the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS). Your purchase transaction data is stored only as long as is necessary to complete your purchase transaction. After that is complete, your purchase transaction information is deleted. All direct payment gateways adhere to the standards set by PCI-DSS as managed by the PCI Security Standards Council, which is a joint effort of brands like Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. PCI-DSS requirements help ensure the secure handling of credit card information by our store and its service providers. For more insight, you may also want to read Shopify’s Terms of Service and Privacy Statement.

SECTION 5 - THIRD-PARTY SERVICES

In general, the third-party providers used by us will only collect, use and disclose your information to the extent necessary to allow them to perform the services they provide to us.

However, certain third-party service providers, such as payment gateways, have their own privacy policies. For these providers, we recommend that you read their privacy policies so you can understand the manner in which your personal information will be handled.

Remember that certain providers may be located in a different jurisdiction than either you or us. If you proceed with a transaction involving a third-party service provider, your information may become subject to the laws of the jurisdiction(s) in which that service provider or its facilities are located.

Once you leave our store’s website or are redirected to a third-party website, you are no longer governed by this Privacy Policy.

Links: When you click on links on our store, they may direct you away from our site. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of other sites and encourage you to read their privacy statements.

SECTION 6 - SECURITY

To protect your personal information, we take reasonable precautions and follow industry best practices to make sure it is not inappropriately lost, misused, accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed. Credit card information is encrypted using secure socket layer technology (SSL) and stored with AES-256 encryption. We follow all PCI-DSS requirements and implement additional generally accepted industry standards.

SECTION 7 - COOKIES

Here is a list of cookies that we use. We’ve listed them here so you can choose if you want to opt-out of cookies or not.

_session_id, unique token, sessional, Allows Shopify to store information about your session (referrer, landing page, etc).
_shopify_visit, no data held, Persistent for 30 minutes from the last visit, Used by our website provider’s internal stats tracker to record the number of visits.
_shopify_uniq, no data held, expires midnight (relative to the visitor) of the next day, Counts the number of visits to a store by a single customer.
cart, unique token, persistent for 2 weeks, Stores information about the contents of your cart.
_secure_session_id, unique token, sessional.
storefront_digest, unique token, indefinite. If the shop has a password, this is used to determine if the current visitor has access.

SECTION 8 - AGE OF CONSENT

By using this site, you represent that you are at least 18 years of age, or that you are the parent or legal guardian of a minor and have given us your consent for them to use this site.

SECTION 9 - YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE PRIVACY ACT 2020

Under the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020, you have the right to access the personal information we hold about you and to request that we correct it.

If you would like to exercise this right, please contact our Privacy Officer using the details in Section 13 of this policy.

SECTION 10 - CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We reserve the right to modify this privacy policy at any time, so please review it frequently. Changes will take effect immediately upon their posting on the website. If we make material changes to this policy, we will notify you here that it has been updated.

If our store is acquired or merged with another company, your information may be transferred to the new owners so that we may continue to sell products to you.

SECTION 11 - SMS/MMS MARKETING PROGRAM

(Note: This section has been heavily edited to remove US-specific legal references and make it compliant with New Zealand's Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007.)

Akina Trading Ltd ("We,” “Us,” “Our”) offers a mobile messaging program (the “Program”). By opting in to the Program, you agree to these terms.

User Opt-In: You agree to receive marketing SMS/MMS messages by affirmatively opting into the Program. By participating, you consent to receive recurring automated messages at the phone number you provided. Consent is not a condition of any purchase. Message and data rates may apply.

User Opt-Out: To opt-out, reply STOP, END, CANCEL, UNSUBSCRIBE, or QUIT to any mobile message from us. You may receive a final message confirming your opt-out. This is the only recognised method of opting out.

Duty to Notify: If you stop using the mobile number subscribed to the Program, you agree to opt out before transferring the number to another party. You agree to indemnify us from any liability resulting from your failure to do so.

Compliance with NZ Law: Our Program is intended to comply with the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2020. All messages sent will clearly identify us as the sender and will include a functional unsubscribe facility, as described in the "User Opt Out" section.

Disclaimer of Warranty: The Program is offered on an "as-is" basis. We are not liable for any delays or failures in the receipt of any mobile messages, as delivery is subject to effective transmission from your wireless service provider.

SECTION 12 - GOVERNING LAW AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION

This Privacy Policy and any disputes related to it or your use of the Site will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of New Zealand, without regard to its conflict of law principles. You agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New Zealand.

SECTION 13 - QUESTIONS AND CONTACT INFORMATION

If you would like to: access, correct, amend or delete any personal information we have about you, register a complaint, or simply want more information, please contact our Privacy Officer at hello@brands.co.nz or by mail at:

Privacy Officer Akina Trading Ltd PO Box 4120 Mount Maunganui, 3149 New Zealand