Football clubs have a new goal

International clubs are eager to cash in on the game's popularity in India with branded merchandise

The efforts of sports authorities, broadcasters and advertisers to create interest in different sports through home-grown leagues seem to have worked in favour of the international football clubs, for now.

While the Indian leagues, including the oldest, Indian Premier League (IPL), still work towards a critical mass for their merchandise and off-stadium revenues, football's top international clubs are ramping up their presence. The last couple of years have seen the entry of Manchester United, Arsenal, FC Barcelona and Chelsea.

Football got a shot in the arm with the formation of the Indian Super League (ISL) in 2014. It was sampled by almost 400 million viewers in its span of two months. In addition, greater accessibility to international tournaments like the English Premier League (EPL), UEFA Champions League (European) and the Bundesliga (German) on the telly and Internet, have made the clubs take notice of their potential market here.

"The international clubs have seen India accept football as a second sport over the years. While it may not be as popular as in other countries, there is no denying the growing affinity, especially for some of the clubs," says Jiggy George, founder & CEO, Dream Theatre.

Dream Theatre has recently tied up with Brandon Company (an affiliate of sports apparel and accessory manufacturer, Puma) for Arsenal Football Club (FC) merchandise. With the new partnership, the sports apparel brand will be the official kit partner of the club, nicknamed Gunners. Puma has acquired the wide-ranging licensing rights to develop Arsenal merchandise (apparel, back-to-school, sporting goods and souvenirs) globally, through its subsidiaries such as Brandon, Cobra Puma Golf, Wheat Accessories and Dobotex.

Dream Theatre will oversee the marketing and operations of Arsenal's merchandising in India. The company also managed the Fifa merchandise programe last year. It has since added to its sports mandate with Read Madrid and AC Milan, as well.

Saugato Bhowmik, senior vice-president, consumer products, Viacom18 Media, says, "The target audience of such clubs is niche, mostly the urban youth from well-to-do families. With the emergence of e-commerce, the clubs find their lucrative target audience easier to tap into."

Viacom18's licensing arm has an agreement with Nike for the master licensing rights for the star-studded Spanish club, FC Barcelona. Bhowmik plans to have as many as 25 categories of products, ranging from apparel, memorabilia, footwear to accessories.

Both George and Bhowmik agree that the clubs will have to look beyond apparel and accessories to innovate for the Indian audience.

Manchester United, one of the most popular clubs seen in action in the EPL, was also the earliest to make a move on merchandising. It struck a franchise agreement with Mirah Hospitality to set up Manchester United Cafe Bars in metros. A licensing agreement with Indus League Clothing followed, and Man U branded tees, socks and scarves can now be found on e-commerce sites. It has been proactive in sponsorship tie-ups with various Indian brands for training programmes or meet and greet with its players, that rub off on its brand recall.

Chelsea, the leading football club in the EPL is trying out another route. It has tied up with IndusInd Bank for co-branded credit cards. These will provide the user perks such as signed jerseys by Chelsea players, hospitality packages (tickets for Chelsea FC home matches) and discounts.

For IndusInd Bank, as Anil Ramachandran, its head, credit cards, says, it will mean talking to a younger section of consumers with spending power. "Our product targets the upper-end of the (consumer) pyramid. It's for the affluent and aspirational consumer, 25-40 years of age. This is the group that has been exposed to football long enough to form loyalties and Chelsea has carved a name for itself. The (sports) heroes in the country are changing, so we feel it's time to come out with a product like this," he says.

The international football clubs can well take advantage of the absence of domestic rivals, as the indigenous leagues' teams are yet to come of age with their merchandising. "The international clubs have a legacy, be it is in terms of their performance or rivalries (Man U and the Gunners, for example). They have had time to build loyalty, transcending geographical limits. Maybe we could see it in a couple of years in the IPL, but the ISL needs more time," says George.

Media reports and analysts estimate that tie-ups such as the Arsenal and FC Barca ones could make Rs 250 to 300 crore in overall sales in the next two years. "Besides the core comprising football purists and club loyalists, there are fringe viewers, whose loyalties are being built only now. Hence, they are our potential consumers," says George.