Economy
Sports apparel helps fill the kitty
By Andrew Moody (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-08-30 11:48
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Bridgewater believes China is a huge potential market for soccer clubs around the world both in selling sportswear and broadcasting rights.
She said the English Premier League still gets three-quarters of its 1 billion pounds-a-year ($1.56 billion) broadcasting revenue from the UK alone.
If it could increase its exposure in China and other markets it could massively increase its revenue.
"Currently, it has got deals in place in more than 100 countries. It has got big potential to expand how much it is selling in these markets," she said.
Chinese soccer fans wearing the Barcelona strip with the name of leading striker Lionel Messi emblazoned on the back were in evidence recently when the club took on Chinese Super League champions Beijing Guoan at the Bird's Nest.
Clubs including Manchester United have been playing in China for some time in an attempt to extend their franchise deeper into the Asian market.
"I included Manchester United as a case study in my recent book and they spoke of the potential of the China market for them," she said.
"They have the advantage that they play in red, which is a lucky color in China. The China national soccer team also plays in red. From our research the Chinese would support almost any team in red no matter who they were," she added.
Chinese sportswear companies realize the value of tie-ins with soccer clubs.
In January, Xtep, the sportswear company based in Quanzhou, Fujian, announced a 7 million pounds, five-year sponsorship deal with English Premier League club Birmingham City.
The club was taken over by Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung last year.
The players have been wearing the Xtep logo on their shirts since the season resumed earlier this month. Xtep is also supplying the club with 800,000 pounds of soccer kit.
"Deals like this give Chinese sportswear manufacturers a lot of exposure," added Bridgewater.
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One finding that emerged was that 97 per cent of respondents in a survey supported a second international soccer team.
"This made the market different from, say, the market in the United Kingdom. If Scotland doesn't qualify for a particular tournament, Scottish fans would support whoever England was playing against," she said.
"Chinese people sometime supported a club because of a particular player and if that player moved they might support the club he went to. The concept of second team support is much more common in East Asia," she said.
If people support more than one club, this gives greater opportunities for sportswear manufacturers to sell their goods to a wider range of people.