Nothing actually new here, just looking more likely to be announced soon I guess
Nike Sources part II
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Nothing actually new here, just looking more likely to be announced soon I guess
What is it with us and going to court??
From theathletic.co.uk
The battle to be Liverpool’s kit supplier is heading for London’s High Court as New Balance fight to retain the lucrative contract.
Rival sportswear giant Nike looked set to be announced as the club’s new partner from the start of next season after agreeing a bumper deal with the European champions, understood to be worth around £70 million per season — a £25 million per season increase on the current arrangement and comfortably the biggest in the club’s history.
However, The Athletic can exclusively reveal that New Balance are desperately trying to stop Liverpool from cutting their ties and linking up with Nike instead.
The current suppliers are adamant that they have triggered their right to match Nike’s offer and should therefore be granted a contract extension with the Premier League leaders beyond May 2020. But Liverpool insist that is not the case and, as a result, New Balance have filed the dispute at the High Court.
A Liverpool spokesman said: “We can confirm that our kit supplier, New Balance, has commenced a legal dispute against the club. We will not be making any further comment during these legal proceedings.”
Written into the current deal with New Balance was a ‘matching clause’ which meant that Liverpool were legally obliged to inform them of Nike’s bumper bid and give them the chance to offer the same.
Having initially looked like they would be priced out of the race, The Athletic understands that New Balance then declared that they would stump up the cash — a sign of how determined the Boston-based company is to keep on board the biggest club in their sponsorship portfolio.
Liverpool responded by informing New Balance that their improved bid still didn’t measure up to their rival because they can’t offer the same kind of global distribution network that Nike possesses. The Anfield hierarchy favour going with Nike as they will provide them with a greater presence in key markets across the world.
Documents show that New Balance filed the case at the commercial court of the High Court on September 10. A statement from the company to The Athletic read: “New Balance is proud to be the official kit sponsor of Liverpool Football Club. Since 2011, when we entered into a record breaking sponsorship with the club, we have delivered two of the biggest selling home kits for Liverpool fans and we continue to match the ambition and achievements of the club as it grows from strength to strength.
“As a long standing and committed sponsor, we are keen to continue our strong partnership with Liverpool Football Club and renew our agreement in 2020. In line with our current contract, we have matched the offer made by Nike.
“As part of the contract renewal process, LFC has called into question elements of the agreement and as such we are asking the courts for clarity on this case. Both we and the club are keen to resolve any contractual challenges as quickly as possible and have agreed to an expedited process in the courts.
“New Balance is eager and confident to maintain its sponsorship of Liverpool Football Club and we look forward to continuing our record of success as LFC’s playing kit provider.”
Liverpool managing director Billy Hogan has led the pursuit of a new kit deal over the course of 2019 with the team’s continued resurgence on the field both domestically and in Europe strengthening his hand in negotiations. An announcement had been expected by the end of September but it now appears certain to drag on.
Daniel Geey, football lawyer at Sheridans, told The Athletic: “These matching clauses are common, whether it’s in apparel or boot deals with individual players or clubs. It’s a way of ensuring that the brand has the opportunity to match any third party offer.
“Usually a company gets the chance to negotiate a renewal during an exclusivity period and then if that offer is rejected the club can go to market for a set period of time. Then if a new bidder makes a better offer, the club has to take that back to the incumbent and give them the chance to match it.
“It’s not just about matching a certain figure financially. There are various commercial requirements and conditions that have to be met for it to qualify as a matching offer. One may be distribution and what, for example, Nike could offer in terms of their breadth of distribution channels globally.
“This is where the finer details of the deal become very important. For example, in sports shops around the country the visibility and the prominence of, for example, the Nike branding may be greater than the one given to New Balance because of the deals with particular sports retailers.
“Another important element is that commercial conditions may differ depending on whether a club has the autonomy to sell its merchandise in its own stores or around the world and the margins that are negotiated for different products.”
Jurgen Klopp’s side have worn New Balance shirts since 2015 with the club having previously worked with their affiliate company Warrior for the previous three seasons. The partnership has proved successful with last season’s home kit the highest selling in the club’s history.
As they wait for the legal dispute to be resolved, New Balance are pushing on with their preparations for next season. The Athletic understands that they have already designed and created all three kits for the 2020-21 campaign. However, whether they ever see the light of day remains to be seen.
Barcelona’s £100 million per season deal with Nike is the biggest in football followed by Real Madrid’s £98 million per season arrangement with Adidas.
In terms of the Premier League, Manchester United currently lead the way, pocketing around £75 million per season from Adidas. Next are Arsenal (Adidas, £60 million), Chelsea (Nike, £60 million) and Manchester City (Puma, £50 million).
(Photo: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
From theathletic.co.uk
The battle to be Liverpool’s kit supplier is heading for London’s High Court as New Balance fight to retain the lucrative contract.
Rival sportswear giant Nike looked set to be announced as the club’s new partner from the start of next season after agreeing a bumper deal with the European champions, understood to be worth around £70 million per season — a £25 million per season increase on the current arrangement and comfortably the biggest in the club’s history.
However, The Athletic can exclusively reveal that New Balance are desperately trying to stop Liverpool from cutting their ties and linking up with Nike instead.
The current suppliers are adamant that they have triggered their right to match Nike’s offer and should therefore be granted a contract extension with the Premier League leaders beyond May 2020. But Liverpool insist that is not the case and, as a result, New Balance have filed the dispute at the High Court.
A Liverpool spokesman said: “We can confirm that our kit supplier, New Balance, has commenced a legal dispute against the club. We will not be making any further comment during these legal proceedings.”
Written into the current deal with New Balance was a ‘matching clause’ which meant that Liverpool were legally obliged to inform them of Nike’s bumper bid and give them the chance to offer the same.
Having initially looked like they would be priced out of the race, The Athletic understands that New Balance then declared that they would stump up the cash — a sign of how determined the Boston-based company is to keep on board the biggest club in their sponsorship portfolio.
Liverpool responded by informing New Balance that their improved bid still didn’t measure up to their rival because they can’t offer the same kind of global distribution network that Nike possesses. The Anfield hierarchy favour going with Nike as they will provide them with a greater presence in key markets across the world.
Documents show that New Balance filed the case at the commercial court of the High Court on September 10. A statement from the company to The Athletic read: “New Balance is proud to be the official kit sponsor of Liverpool Football Club. Since 2011, when we entered into a record breaking sponsorship with the club, we have delivered two of the biggest selling home kits for Liverpool fans and we continue to match the ambition and achievements of the club as it grows from strength to strength.
“As a long standing and committed sponsor, we are keen to continue our strong partnership with Liverpool Football Club and renew our agreement in 2020. In line with our current contract, we have matched the offer made by Nike.
“As part of the contract renewal process, LFC has called into question elements of the agreement and as such we are asking the courts for clarity on this case. Both we and the club are keen to resolve any contractual challenges as quickly as possible and have agreed to an expedited process in the courts.
“New Balance is eager and confident to maintain its sponsorship of Liverpool Football Club and we look forward to continuing our record of success as LFC’s playing kit provider.”
Liverpool managing director Billy Hogan has led the pursuit of a new kit deal over the course of 2019 with the team’s continued resurgence on the field both domestically and in Europe strengthening his hand in negotiations. An announcement had been expected by the end of September but it now appears certain to drag on.
Daniel Geey, football lawyer at Sheridans, told The Athletic: “These matching clauses are common, whether it’s in apparel or boot deals with individual players or clubs. It’s a way of ensuring that the brand has the opportunity to match any third party offer.
“Usually a company gets the chance to negotiate a renewal during an exclusivity period and then if that offer is rejected the club can go to market for a set period of time. Then if a new bidder makes a better offer, the club has to take that back to the incumbent and give them the chance to match it.
“It’s not just about matching a certain figure financially. There are various commercial requirements and conditions that have to be met for it to qualify as a matching offer. One may be distribution and what, for example, Nike could offer in terms of their breadth of distribution channels globally.
“This is where the finer details of the deal become very important. For example, in sports shops around the country the visibility and the prominence of, for example, the Nike branding may be greater than the one given to New Balance because of the deals with particular sports retailers.
“Another important element is that commercial conditions may differ depending on whether a club has the autonomy to sell its merchandise in its own stores or around the world and the margins that are negotiated for different products.”
Jurgen Klopp’s side have worn New Balance shirts since 2015 with the club having previously worked with their affiliate company Warrior for the previous three seasons. The partnership has proved successful with last season’s home kit the highest selling in the club’s history.
As they wait for the legal dispute to be resolved, New Balance are pushing on with their preparations for next season. The Athletic understands that they have already designed and created all three kits for the 2020-21 campaign. However, whether they ever see the light of day remains to be seen.
Barcelona’s £100 million per season deal with Nike is the biggest in football followed by Real Madrid’s £98 million per season arrangement with Adidas.
In terms of the Premier League, Manchester United currently lead the way, pocketing around £75 million per season from Adidas. Next are Arsenal (Adidas, £60 million), Chelsea (Nike, £60 million) and Manchester City (Puma, £50 million).
(Photo: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Nike is a manc/Arsenal brand.
Make a late bid Adidas!
Make a late bid Adidas!
Reading the comments following James Peace breaking this on twitter is quite enlightening, it's full of fans around the world saying they can't buy kits, in Japan, in India, Mexico, etc, all saying they can buy other big clubs kits but to get ours they have to pay around 30% more online to get them sent to them & they're often out of stock anyway.
As much as I dislike the idea that we'll be wearing Nike identikits, the clubs logic makes sense.
As much as I dislike the idea that we'll be wearing Nike identikits, the clubs logic makes sense.
We save him for the important ones.
Definitely and crazy we let it get to that after what I expect was multiple years of feedback about this.
I wanted a Billion deal.
Disappointed.
Disappointed.
This was the case in Middle East for awhile too. Couldn’t find the pool kit anywhere.
They aren't going to base their whole distribution around their ability to service our kits, and they'll never compete with Nike on distribution - they are a minnow. NB's inability to keep kits in stock is another matter.
Yeah, it does grate somewhat, and yet, they do have a bigger global support at present, which I suppose is more significant than the successfulness of the team for a shirt producer. City are on half that in their deal, because they've no global fanbase.
You got the like for sticking the boot in on Man U.
I bet it's cos we've insisted on keeping in house designs on some lfc branded sportswear & casualwear completely excluded from this deal.
Apparently the club were extremely keen to keep that as it has a massive profit margin & has made them a shitload of cash, no other big PL club can do it themselves without paying a percentage to the shirt sponsor apparently, but warrior/new balance didn't insist on it for their deal.
A mate of mine was asked to a design input meeting with the club and was asked as a fan why wouldn’t he buy merchandise. The answer was it’s all hugely overbearing logos and shit. Simple tops with (old style) Ralph Lauren sized logos would look well better.
Now they are being for discreet with the size of the liver bird on their merchandise.
If you're an actual adult wearing LFC-branded merchandise out and about, you're a fucking meff, I don't care how small the fucking logo is.
I cannot disagree with that but they are better than every design looking like a life sized version of the liver birds.
Total agreement.
I don't even wear any merch to the pub to watch the match, which is a pretty standard part of North American supporter culture. I'm past puberty and therefore it is no longer acceptable.
There has been stock issues with the goalkeepers top ( junior), in the uk. Pathetic really given the demand.
As things stand, they'll be receiving a massive reduction to that amount if they end the season out of the CL.
Thats apparently why Juve changed their kit. Noone wanted to be in the pub in a NHL referee top.
Wow, one of the most iconic kits in the world. Changed just like that
Disgrace.
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