By Paul Nicholson
February 27 – English Premier League leaders Chelsea have signed a 5-year £200 million shirt sponsorship deal with Japanese tyre manufacturer Yokohama. The deal is the second largest in the Premier League, behind Manchester United’s seven year £370 million Chevrolet sponsorship.
Yokohama replace Korea’s Samsung who were paying £18 million a year. Samsung have been Chelsea’s shirt sponsor since 2005, last renewing in 2012. Yokohama will take over for the 2015/16 season.
Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck emphasised the global reach of the Yokohama deal as well as saying that the club would, with Yokohama, be more active in the Japanese
“We believe that Yokohama will play a key role in helping us drive our global expansion in international markets such as the US, where they have operated with distinction for many years. Also, of course, Chelsea having such an esteemed and historic Japanese company as our partner enables us to accelerate our development in their home market too,” said Buck.
“We are also looking forward to working with Yokohama on our community projects around the world through the Chelsea Foundation, when together we can use the power of sport as a force for good.”
The deal is the first major announcement following Chelsea’s appointment of Christian Purslow (formerly at Liverpool FC) to run commercial operations. Previously with Liverpool, Purslow’s brief is to boost international sponsorship revenue and partnerships.
A club statement said: “Today’s agreement launches the club into a new era of innovative commercial partnerships. This will underpin Chelsea’s strategy to be one of Europe’s leading football clubs with a self-financing model which is fully compliant with the UEFA Financial Fair Play rules.”
The Yokohama Rubber Company Ltd is a Tokyo Stock Exchange listed public company. Founded in 1917, Yokohama will soon be celebrating 100 years of tyre manufacture. It also uses its technoiogy for industrial, construction, marine and aerospace products as well as golf equipment. The business employs more than 20,000 people in more than 120 countries,
Tadanobu Nagumo (pictured left), chairman and CEO of The Yokohama Rubber Company, said: “This shirt partnership with Chelsea will give Yokohama an opportunity to showcase our company to a huge worldwide audience thanks to Chelsea’s ever-growing popularity. We see our partnership with Chelsea as an integral part of our global expansion plans as we enter Phase IV of our Grand Design 100 plan. We look forward to launching our iconic new Chelsea Yokohama shirt this summer.”
Phase IV of Yokohama’s Grand Design 100 plan focuses on growth of annual net sales, annual operating income and operating profit margin.
Chelsea is similarly pursuing growth of annual net sales though operating profit margin will likely be dictated by how much of the increased sales revenue is spent in the transfer markets.
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