Manchester United may still be finding their feet on the pitch under Louis van Gaal, but off it they continue to excel. United announced a commercial deal this time with Chi Limited to become the club's official soft drinks partner in Nigeria. The multi-year deal allows Chi Limited to use United's crest and club imagery on their products in Nigeria.
For United, the deal will boost their coffers further as they look to continue to fund their incredible spending on players through commercial tie-ups. It has been a busy week for United's commercial department as they signed up IVC as the club’s first ‘official Chinese wellness partner’ on Monday.
Clubs signing up a myriad of sponsors and partners is nothing new, but few have the breadth of deals United can boast. How many clubs do you know with an 'official Chinese wellness partner'? And how many clubs can count the Hong Kong Jockey Club as an official partner? A look at United's tie-ins provides an insight into how far and wide United have cast the net.
As well as an 'official Chinese wellness' partner and Nigerian soft drinks partner, United have a global noodle partner (Nissin Foods Group), gaming partner in Japan (Gloops), an official paint partner (Kansai Paint) and a tyre partner in UK and India (Apollo Tyres).
As ridiculous as these deals sound, the end product is not to be sniffed at. United announced that their commercial operation pulled in £189.3million between 2013-2014 when they released their full-year results earlier this month - an increase of £36.8m on the previous year. That figure is expected to rise closer to £240m in accounts covering the current season. Who knew that selling United-branded soft drinks in Nigeria and noodles across the globe would prove so profitable?
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