“UNIQLO, the Japanese global apparel retailer, announces today a partnership with Roger Federer, the greatest tennis player of all-time and one of the world’s most influential and universally admired people, as its newest Global Brand Ambassador,”
Roger Federer Uniqlo
That was the official statement made by Uniqlo when announcing Roger Federer as the new face of the company. The Japanese fast fashion brand will pay arguably the best tennis player ever $300m over 10 years to replace Nike as Federer’s kit sponsor. The amount of money is three times more than “Fed Express” earned with Nike. He will continue to wear their sneakers, because Uniqlo currently don’t manufacture them.
At girst glance, it appears strange a company would invest so much in a fading star. As age-defying as the Swiss is, playing ten more years is not feasible. At 36 years old, he might have three to five more seasons left in him. So why would they pay so much? Because Uniqlo wants to sell their brand outside of the Asian market. What better way to do it than the fourth most famous athlete in the world? Even after he retires, Roger Federer will generate revenue, much like Usain Bolt has after his retirement. RF has an enormous fan base and is a global icon, not just in tennis, but sports in general.
Look at what Nike did with LeBron James and Cristiano Ronaldo. They both have lifetime deals with the sportswear giants. Nike wouldn’t commit millions if they weren’t convinced they would pay off. For as long as they’re alive, stars like James, Ronaldo and Federer will breed revenue. Uniqlo realized that and made Federer an offer he couldn’t refuse.
Nike drops after Roger Federer switches to Uniqlo https://t.co/oq9Diz3YHh pic.twitter.com/izfOW0mVYB
— Bloomberg Markets (@markets) July 2, 2018
RF logo
There’s a point of dispute between Roger Federer and Nike. Nike owns the RF logo, which is Federer’s brand recognized around the world.
“On the face of it, Nike’s legal position seems strong. It owns a number of trade mark registrations around the world for the RF logo and presumably also owns the copyright.”
The 20-time Grand Slam champion doesn’t seem too concerned and believes is only a matter of time before he attains what he rightfully owns.
“So the RF logo is with Nike at the moment, but it will come to me at some point,”
“I hope rather sooner than later, that Nike can be nice and helpful in the process to bring it over to me. It’s also something that was very important for me, for the fans really.”
Roger Federer children
Wimbledon 2018 is the first tournament in which Roger Federer will wear Uniqlo shirts. It is also the first time all of his four children will watch their dad compete on the tennis court. Federer has always dreamt of playing in front of his full family. His wish will come true this summer, when wife Mirka, 9-year-old twin girls Myla Rose and Charlene Riva and 4-year-old twin boys Leo and Lennart sit in the Centre Court stands and cheer him on. He actually rented two separate apartments during Wimbledon since he wanted to have his family around, but also wanted to get some sleep. Oddly enough, Roger’s sister Diana also has twins – a boy and a girl. It must run in the family.
