Sport footwear, apparel and equipment brand Reebok is reaping the rewards of its association with the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, and its endorsement deals with the likes of M.S. Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh.

Sales of World Cup merchandise has grown ‘significantly' in April (after India's World Cup victory), across the 1,000-plus franchisee outlets of Reebok in India, informed company officials. Reebok's partnership with the ICC entitles it to sole merchandising rights in its category for events including the World Cup.

Interacting with Business Line prior to a ceremony to present endorsers M.S. Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla and Yusuf Pathan with ‘Golden Bats' for the Indian team's win, Mr Subhinder Singh Prem, MD, Reebok India Company, said, “We have seen same store sales increase 20 per cent in April 2011 (over April 2010). The sale of merchandise has shot up after the victory, in April.”

Volumes

Refusing to divulge volumes, Mr Prem noted that the top selling merchandise items were the T-shirt with the India flag and a co-branded initiative with Pepsi's ‘Change the Game' campaign, the ‘Flame T-shirts'. The winning runs were scored off Dhoni's Reebok bat, and the brand is keen to keep that euphoric moment fresh in public memory. A contest was launched inviting consumers to express how they felt after the victory. Consumers were asked to post these as messages on a Reebok Dil Se wall on Facebook.

“We thought of this when we saw Yuvraj Singh cry after winning the trophy. We received over 20,000 entries in record time, and the top 100 are getting to meet Dhoni, Yuvraj and co. today,” explained Mr Sajid Shamim, ED, Marketing and Product, Reebok India. A collector's edition of 100 limited edition bats made with 22 carat gold, with Dhoni's and Yuvraj's logos, is available for sale online, at a cost of Rs 1,25,000 a bat. Proceeds from the sale would go to promoting Under-19 cricket. Cricket equipment is growing fastest, while footwear continues to contribute the maximum to Reebok's revenues. The fastest growing category for the company in India is cricket equipment and accessories, revealed Mr Prem, albeit on a much smaller base.

“Somewhere when people see a Dhoni playing with the same bat, they know that it's of a certain quality. We've seen that working. Moreover, we've also spent a considerable amount of time on R&D and developing the range, with inputs from the cricketers themselves,” he added.

Besides its association with Dhoni and Yuvraj, the brand is associated with a host of cricketers including seven from the T20 World Cup winning Indian team.

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