Right Guard and USA Basketball Friday announced a new partnership that will make Right Guard the official deodorant and body wash of USA Basketball. Right Guard will also be the presenting partner of NBA TV’s “The Dream Team” documentary which premieres June 13 at 9:00pm ET. Additionally, Right Guard will debut a new USA Basketball-themed broadcast spot that will begin airing later this month (THE DAILY).
THE RED MILE: The Flames and Coca-Cola Refreshments Canada Thursday announced a multiyear extension of their longstanding partnership. Per the new sponsorship deal, Coca-Cola will continue to have pouring rights at Scotiabank Saddledome during Flames, NLL Roughnecks and WHL Hitmen games. Also, the beverage company will continue its sponsorship of the Coca-Cola Zero Zone seating area on the mezzanine level of the arena (Flames).
COMING TO A STORE NEAR YOU: In Pittsburgh, Kim Leonard reported Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc.’s plans for the next year include “boosting its recently acquired Top-Flite brand with more new lines of golf balls, working to turn around a struggling sports merchandise retailer in the United Kingdom and fine-tuning a concept store for running enthusiasts.” The company held its annual shareholders’ meeting on Wednesday and Leonard noted opening more new Dick's and Golf Galaxy stores nationwide “will continue.” The goal is “turning more attention to the improving golf market, with plans for larger Golf Galaxy stores to replace some of that chain's original locations” (PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 6/7).
AND YOUR POINT IS? In London, Will Dean examined Uniqlo, the clothing line sponsor of top-ranked tennis player and French Open semifinalist Novak Djokovic. Dean asks if the sponsorship is Uniqlo "taking a swing into the sportswear market … or merely a way to promote its casualwear?" The brand is known for its “stylish Oxford shirts and plain separates,” which is why the five-year deal with Djokovic “seemed so odd.” Where Nike can sell brand endorser Real Madrid F Cristiano Ronaldo’s “boots and Barcelona kits, Uniqlo isn’t selling Djokovic attire.” Dean asks, if the brand’s “not in it to sell sportswear, what’s the investment in a tennis superstar worth?” Planet Retail Analyst Isabel Cavill said, “It’s all part of a general movement in the fashion sector -- especially in the retail sector -- into sportswear.” Cavill pointed to the “rise of Gap's Athleta brand, popular Canadian yoga label Lululemon and H&M's pop-up Olympic sportswear shop as evidence” (London INDEPENDENT, 6/8).
