Top-ranked tennis player Novak Djokovic has “signed a five-year deal with Japanese clothing brand Uniqlo," according to a source cited by Danielle Rossingh of BLOOMBERG NEWS. The source said that Djokovic “will wear the company’s sports and casual wear and work with Uniqlo on design details such as color and fabric.” The agreement “gives Uniqlo additional global brand exposure.” The source said that there is “no buyout clause in Djokovic’s agreement with Uniqlo.” The company “also sponsors Japanese tennis player Kei Nishikori, ranked 18th in the world.” Djokovic’s previous clothing sponsor, Sergio Tacchini, yesterday ended its agreement with Djokovic ended because it claimed he had “outgrown” its brand (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 5/23). CNBC.com's Darren Rovell cited sources as saying that Sergio Tacchini in '09 was able to sign Djokovic by "offering him a smaller guarantee than the larger companies would pay, but promised bigger should he do well." However, there were "design problems in that some of the outfits it put Djokovic in weren't popular in the United States, where the biggest markets exist to sell high end tennis gear." Rovell noted many of Djokovic's Tacchini-designed Grand Slam outfits "never even made it" to the U.S. (CNBC.com, 5/22).
