Two new sponsorship deals have been confirmed ahead of the 2012 Tour de France, which gets under way on 30 June. Danish pro cycling team Saxo Bank has become Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank and Garmin Sharp is the new abbrieviated name of Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda.
Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
Team Saxo Bank owner and manager Bjarne Riis has confirmed a new co-sponsor for his team – the Russian online banking and credit systems operation Tinkoff Bank, which will support the Danish team for the rest of this season and throughout 2013. Meanwhile, Saxo Bank has also extended its sponsorship contract through next year.
Riis said “This is indeed a great day and a proud moment for our cycling team, and I believe we now have a very strong setup for the future development of Riis Cycling and our team. To continue with Saxo Bank as a main sponsor shows in words and action that together we have been able to build an extremely strong partnership based on the obvious benefits for both of us over the past five years.
“Today, to also be able to announce and warmly welcome Tinkoff Bank on board makes me even more proud. I’m honoured to partner with two such highly professional and dedicated companies, who share a great passion for cycling, but also see commercial benefits in sponsoring our team.”
Garmin Sharp
Sharp Electronics Europe this week confirmed its sponsorship agreement with one of the world’s top professional cycling teams, Team Garmin. Owned and managed by Slipstream Sports, the team will become Garmin Sharp from the 2012 Tour de France.
“In the year Sharp celebrates 100 years of creating unique technologies and products that bring genuine benefit to society, we are delighted to become co-title sponsor and Technology Partner for the most exciting team in one of the most beautiful and European of sports.” said Paul Molyneux, CEO for Sharp Europe.
“Sharp has a strong focus on developing its brand presence both globally and here in Europe, and this offers us the opportunity to put ourselves in front of a significant new audience in all our key markets. Sharp is dedicated to its founding ideals of sincerity and creativity, and with their clear commitment to ethical innovation, Slipstream are the perfect fit.”
The partnership is part of Sharp’s global move to develop its presence in markets beyond its traditional stronghold of Japan, and particularly in Europe, which accounts for nearly a third of the corporation’s overseas business. The company kicked off its new unified branding platform across Europe under the ‘This is Why’ tagline at the UEFA Euro 2012, where Sharp is a EuroTop sponsor.
The new cycling sponsorship offers Sharp in Europe the opportunity to ‘develop key territories and new market areas, where its technological and manufacturing strengths can provide real benefit.’ It also builds on Sharp’s European association with cycling, which began through sponsorship of a leading UK domestic team, Rapha-Condor-Sharp, and race, The Tour of Britain.
“The rapidly-growing consumer health and wellness market offers tremendous potential for Sharp and with this team and the partners involved, we have a world-class platform to develop real technological benefit in a highly-focused, performance-based environment,” said Herman Karabetyan, VP Marketing for Sharp Europe.
“Cycling perfectly showcases the convergence of technological and human achievement, in a way which deeply resonates with Sharp’s central principal of delivering technology that is always guided by human need. We will challenge ourselves to use new and existing Sharp technology to help this amazing group of athletes go faster, recover quicker and continue their inspiring journey to the top of their sport, looking to create new products that help people live in a healthier, more enjoyable way.”
Karabetyan continued, “With 9 European nationalities represented in the team, and a race program of over 225 days in 14 different European countries, this is a truly pan-European platform for us to demonstrate and deepen Sharp’s commitment to understanding and meeting the specific needs of Europeans.”
In addition to collaborating with the team on new technology, Sharp will also outfit the team with its leading AQUOS LCD screens, audio products, solar panels, air purification systems, microwave and steam cooking equipment, refrigerators and multifunction printing devices.
“Sharp shares our passion and commitment to the best innovations in technology,” said Jonathan Vaughters, CEO of Slipstream Sports. “We are incredibly excited to partner with them to together develop technologies that will help our riders do what they do every day, even better. Working with the team provides Sharp access to some of the best athletes in the world to develop products for the future.”
