Partnering with fast-growing sports properties that offer rich and diverse ecosystems, such as the Champions Hockey League (CHL), can open up incredible growth opportunities for brands. Matthias Wolf, Managing Director International of Warrior Sports, explains why its decision to become a long-term partner and Official Kit Supplier of Europe’s top ice hockey league, facilitated by Infront, has proven a tactical masterstroke.
For us, as Warrior, it was a huge opportunity to be part of this exclusive competition from the beginning. We loved the idea of being able to offer our proven team service expertise, on the one hand, and to market our products on the other hand. It was also a great ignition to launch our business plans for merchandise, such as jerseys and apparel, next to our hardware.
When it comes to ice hockey, the CHL is the only league in Europe with outstanding, border-crossing exposure on a top level. We had already successfully serviced our direct branches in Finland, Sweden, Germany and Austria, as well as all of our distributors around Europe. So, it was the logical conclusion to channel those marketing activities and put everything under one roof.
Since cooperating with the CHL, we have profited through strengthening our network and relationships with Europe’s most renowned hockey clubs, as well as contacts with other CHL sponsors, where we developed new, fruitful partnerships. In terms of sales, we can feel the value of this sponsorship when presenting our newest products on the ice and rink-side. As for the future, we are very optimistic that we can advance and strengthen our position in the market through this partnership.
This partnership gives us the chance to focus exclusively on the needs of all participating organisations, as well as our company goals. We keep up the communication to figure out any possible improvements on a daily basis, from a service and marketing perspective as well as on the product side. This is a true key driver for us.
One of our long-term visions is to extend our distribution opportunities, especially in the digital sector. This partnership with the CHL gives us the flexibility to develop new marketing and sales tools together, such as our CHL web shop.
From the first minute on, we have enjoyed working with Infront. The communication with all the employees involved is strong, highly professional and has always been very constructive. We couldn’t think of a better partner.
Absolutely! As mentioned, there is a measurable value in terms of sales and marketing but, besides that, we are very proud to be recognised as the established equipment supplier for the CHL within the hockey scene, since its inception.