Global sports brand Puma has been signed as the official kit partner of the Indian Premier League (IPL) team franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for three years.
With the development, Puma has become the only global sports brand to be associated with IPL 2021.
Commenting on the association, Abhishek Ganguly, managing director, Puma India and Southeast Asia said: “At that point of time, IPL wasn’t lucrative from a merchandising point. So, we chose to back players like Sourav Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh and more recently Virat Kohli and KL Rahul.”
“Over the years, as the brand and distribution network grew, we became a market leader and IPL became a mature and strong property. We felt this is the right time to get back to IPL and build on the sports merchandising opportunity where the market size is doubling every two to three years,” he added.
After the partnership, Puma will have exclusive retailing rights to RCB’s replica jerseys.
“We will have a presence on the pitch, team training and travel when it comes to merchandise. It is also a big opportunity to engage RCB fans so we will have digital and e-commerce engagements. Hopefully, when fans return to stadiums next year we will be looking forward to leverage the on ground and in stadia activations,” Ganguly further said.
On the other hand, Rajesh V Menon, vice-president & head of Royal Challengers Bangalore, said: “Both RCB and Puma have common sensibilities and have built on a strong lifestyle proposition. We are positive that with Puma’s marketing capabilities, fans will have access to not only great merchandise but also some very interesting activations and engagements through the IPL season and beyond.”
RCB merchandise will be available at all Puma stores, on puma.com, RCB website, mobile app and the RCB Bar & Café from the first week of April.