August 14 – It was announced at precisely 8.30 on Wednesday morning that global watchmaker Bulova is to be Manchester United’s official timekeeper for the next three years.
Established in the USA in 1875, Bulova is now a division of Japan’s Citizen Watch Co. and has offices in New York, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Switzerland and the UK, along with authorised distributors in 37 countries.
At the luxury end of the watch market, and steeped in history including being used for the first Apollo moon landing, as the club’s official timekeeper, Bulova branding will be prominent on the scoreboards at Old Trafford, feature on the stadium’s digital advertising boards during all Premier League home matches and be seen daily on MUTV.
Bulova will produce a range of co-branded timepieces utilising the Manchester United crest.
The new deal replaces United’s previous multi-million pound deal with Swiss watch-maker Hublot, which had been the club’s official timekeeping partner since 2008, but whose deal ran out in June. A Hublot clock that had been installed at the entrance to Old Trafford has been removed.
Richard Arnold, Manchester United group managing director, said: “Although from very different industries, Bulova and Manchester United share many common values. Founded within years of each other, we have both grown to become global leaders in our fields and the first to achieve many new innovations and milestones. We are confident that the popularity, craftsmanship and accessibility of Bulova’s products, combined with the club’s ever-growing global fan base, will make this a successful partnership.”
Gregory Thumm, Bulova Corporation president said: “Everything we do here at Bulova is based on preserving our 138-plus years of traditions. Innovation and thinking from the inside out are common traits of both Manchester United and Bulova Corporation, where we continuously strive to be the best in our respective fields. I believe that sharing these core values provides the chemistry for an amazing partnership between our two organisations.”
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