Puma and Borussia Dortmund team up
German sportswear company Puma has announced that it has entered a new partnership with the German Bundesliga Champions, Borussia Dortmund. Effective from the 1st July 2012, this new technical partnership will see Puma provide official playing kits for all associated Borussia Dortmund teams, including the senior men’s and all youth teams, as well as becoming the club’s official partner in relation to replica kits, fan-wear and other merchandise.
Puma will provide playing kits for Borussia Dortmund for the 2012/13 season and for multiple seasons to follow. As part of Puma’s commitment to the partnership, the brand is providing football boots for players of all levels within the Borussia Dortmund club who don’t have existing boot contracts.
Franz Koch, CEO of Puma said: “We are really excited about this new addition to our football portfolio. Borussia Dortmund perfectly embodies the mix of sport and lifestyle, an ethos we share at Puma. The brand values emphasised by both companies of joy, enthusiasm and passion make this partnership a perfect match. Our association with Borussia Dortmund will allow us to further expand our position as the clear number three football brand.”
Matthias Bäumer, general manager at Puma Germany said: “We are very pleased to be able to strengthen our portfolio with such a long-standing and successful Bundesliga club as Borussia Dortmund. The enthusiasm of this club and its unique fans will not only allow us to leave our mark in the field of teamsports and merchandising, but provide our retail partners with innovative football product and marketing concepts.”
Hans-Joachim Watzke, Borussia Dortmund Club president said: “Borussia Dortmund is thrilled to enter this new partnership with Puma. We share a great synergy with Puma, we both have brand values that extend beyond simply performance on the pitch, and our work together in coming seasons will reflect this. From our very early conversations with Puma it was abundantly clear that they wished to make Borussia Dortmund fans integral to the brand’s football campaigns in Germany, to value them as we do. This marketing focus was a key reason for us signing a partnership with Puma, and we are excited about the prospect of implementing these plans for the 2012/13 season and beyond.”
