Wimbledon "nurtures an air of cool exclusivity," according to Murad Ahmed of the FINANCIAL TIMES. That provides the annual tournament with an "edge in the battle with other leading sporting events" to convince sponsors and broadcasters to "stump up ever greater sums of cash." Wimbledon’s organizers have secured deals that will "propel the Championships to record revenues in the coming years." Wimbledon officials are in the "late stages of talks over a tie-up" with American Express to become an "official supplier," which provides goods and services to the tournament, from '19. A number of suppliers have signed extensions to existing contracts over the past year, including HSBC, sports brand Slazenger and mineral water group Evian. The All England Club "would not reveal financial details." But people close to the negotiations said that AmEx will pay more than $5M, "while existing sponsors have renewed contracts with increased values." All England Club Commercial Dir Mick Desmond said, "There’s been a slowdown in sponsorship and rights fees in sports have reached a ceiling in certain areas. We’ve seen a different picture here, where we’ve just gone through a raft of renewals on very positive terms." Wimbledon "also anticipates increased money from broadcasters," which provide about half the tournament’s income, which totaled £216M in the year ending July 31, 2017 (FINANCIAL TIMES, 6/30).
