By Andrew Warshaw
January 20 – Liverpool have responded to a claim from the adidas chief executive, Herbert Hainer, that the club priced themselves out of a new kit deal by saying they could soon be worth £300 million ($464 million/€359 million).
Hainer was quoted by Bloomberg as saying that Liverpool’s performance on the pitch, with no European football for the first time in 12 seasons, meant that the club’s valuation of themselves was inflated.
“We thought that what Liverpool were asking and what they were delivering was not in the right balance,” Hainer said.
“This all has to be brought in line between what you offer and what you get.”
The club, however, believe adidas were unable to gauge their global appeal.
The current contract expires at the end of this season and Liverpool have instead reached an agreement with the American brand Warrior Sports instead.
This deal is said to be worth £25 million ($39 million/€30 million) a year – trumping Manchester United’s contract with Nike – and doubles Liverpool’s current kit agreement.
Sales of Liverpool’s replica shirts are believed to reach nearly 900,000 a year, making it the fourth highest selling kit in the world behind United, Barcelona and Real Madrid.
With the end of their six-year deal with the German brand drawing near, reports on Merseyside said Liverpool opened the bidding process to find a fresh supplier and that although adidas had wanted to remain in place, they withdrew from negotiation.
Liverpool say the new kit deal could help turn them into a £300 million ($464 million/€359 million) worldwide brand over the next six years.
The deal with sportswear firm Warrior as the club’s shirt manufacturer will start on June 1 and run until 2018.
Unlike the present agreement with adidas, Liverpool will have control over non-branded merchandising.
The Liverpool managing director, Ian Ayre (pictured), says the partnership will make the club even more established in the world game.
“Our business is split in two,” Ayre said.
“We have what you call kit, the branded products, the stuff the players wear and that’s the part of the business that the deal with Warrior covers.
“In our existing deal, there have been some restrictions on that in terms of the other unbranded products we sell, general retail.
“That sat within our deal with adidas in certain lines and in certain markets.
“In our new deal, we have complete control of that.
“We will still work with Warrior, but we will have a much wider opportunity.
“That area of business currently represents 50 per cent of everything we generate.
“The new deal represents half of what we currently generate, so we still have another opportunity to develop similar kinds of revenues and that’s what encouraged us.
“The way these deals are typically structured is that they are a mix of guaranteed revenues and royalties.
“It’s the same in near enough every kit deal I’ve seen.
“I’m happy that we delivered absolute value for a partner like adidas and we will continue to deliver that value for Warrior.
“I don’t think it would surprise anyone to know that Liverpool are one of the biggest merchandising businesses in football.”
Contact the writer of this story at zib.l1734898247labto1734898247ofdlr1734898247owedi1734898247sni@w1734898247ahsra1734898247w.wer1734898247dna1734898247
Related stories
January 2012: Liverpool lose adidas deal after poor performances on the pitch