Highlight Reel: How FC Versailles Managed to 6x its Turnover 📈
Plus, why the DECATHLON PULSE announcement matters for all sports organisations and ESPN8: The Ocho returns next week!
Welcome to Sports Pundit, the sports business newsletter delivering insights from across the industry.
In today’s email;
FC Versailles Tap into their Heritage 👕
Decathlon’s New Startup Studio 🏗️
ESPN8: The Ocho Returns! 🎱
Thanks to all of you who RSVPd and came along to mix and network at our Happy Hour events in both New York and London. It’s always great to connect IRL. Already looking forward to seeing you again in August (more details at the bottom of todays newsletter).
Happy Friday!
Andy 😊 🙏
P.S. Congrats to Alex, our latest ‘Contributor of the Week,’ an award given out to reward positive contributions to the SP WhatsApp Group. Alongside the two featured stories today, he completes a very French theme for this week. Only apt given the start of the Olympics! 🇫🇷
Other honourable mentions go to Shane, Fiona, Giulia, and Nathan.
Not a member yet? Join using the link below 👇
SEWN UP
How FC Versailles Managed to 6x its Turnover 📈
FC Versailles has already multiplied their previous year's turnover by six due to a phenomenal surge in jersey sales.
The clubs, which is now part-owned by F1 driver Pierre Gasly, managed to sell 1,300 jerseys in just one week, as well as generate significant interest from international markets such as the US, UK, Germany, and South Korea after releasing its new kit for the 24/25 season with Kappa.
This extraordinary success story offers valuable insights into the impact of effective branding and strategic marketing, particularly in a moment that clubs look for alternative economic levers to pull due to depreciating broadcast revenues.
This success is not just a random stroke of luck. As Alexandre Mulliez, Chairman of FC Versailles, explains, it is part of a clear ownership plan that they have implemented since coming into the semi-pro French football club:
What he said:
“The jersey, inspired by Versailles and adapted to today's fashion codes, is merely the result of an in-depth reasoning on our brand positioning: an ostensibly 'contradictory' association that aims to reconcile History (the heritage of Versailles and its positive attributes: prestige, refinement, excellence) and the Future (the values of youth: openness, tolerance, solidarity)…
The success of the launch confirms our hypothesis that there are ways to rethink a club's economic model and gradually move towards profitability.
The benefits are not limited to revenue, we have seen a direct impact on the attractiveness of the club in terms of sponsors and recruitments (players included).”
📚 Further Reading: The Football Team That Finally Got Fashion Right (Thanks Fiona!)
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HIGHLIGHTS
Top European leagues and the global players' union Fifpro are launching legal action against FIFA for "abuse of dominance" in football ⚽️
Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese has joined Unrivaled, a new 3-on-3 league founded by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier 🏀
Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick has launched Lumi, a tech venture that has secured $4 million in seed funding from Seven Seven Six 💸
Warner Bros. Discovery is suing the NBA over a $77 billion deal with NBC, ESPN, and Amazon for streaming and TV rights for the next 11 years 🏀
Everton's takeover bid has collapsed after The Friedkin Group decided not to proceed with their purchase following a four-week due diligence period 🏟️
ESPN8: The Ocho will return from Aug. 1 to Aug. 4 on ESPN platforms, featuring fan-favourites and new, unusual sports like Pro League Network’s CarJitsu Championship and Ultimate Tire Wrestling 🚗
ON THE PULSE
Why the DECATHLON PULSE Announcement Matters for All Sports Organisations ⚙️
Last week, Decathlon announced their investment arm and startup studio, designed to pioneer new growth engines. It will build, invest in, and acquire forward-thinking companies that are transforming the world of sport.
This move aligns with a broader trend seen across various industries, where companies set up their own investment arms alongside accelerator programs.
This trend is evident in the sports sector as well, with initiatives such as the NBA Launchpad, MLS Emerging Ventures' Innovation Labs, and the Australian Open's AO Startups program.
For those in this space, this is not a big surprise. In fact, it is a natural step forward to best leverage Decathlon's assets, ensure business ROI, and provide tangible value for innovation.
A similar reasoning is behind many rightsholders who have, or are now considering similar moves, as Jean-Baptiste Alliot (Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer at LaSource), explains:
What he said:
“For their data, media, or digital strategy, sports organisations can’t do it all alone. In today's world, they need to outsource part of the business to relevant partners, especially when it comes to the tech stack.
To do so, what could be better than having a proper vision, strategy and capabilities to:
help navigate the complexity of tech providers;
test their real business value;
be rewarded as it should be with various possibilities (commercial agreement, equity at a discount rate, etc.) for providing such added value with strong assets (expertise, store accessibility, consumer feedback, test platforms, brand recognition, etc.) for early and late-stage start-ups;
preserve and maximise the return on highly critical parts of the business for which M&A and JV can be part of the strategy.
This does not happen by chance, though.
If you want to maximise the upside and make sure you get a fair value from engaging with start-ups, you need to have the proper scheme in place and the right ‘skin in the game’.
Innovation is a team sport.”
P.S. If you work with a rightsholder or represent athletes, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me if you’re curious about exploring opportunities in venture. I’d be happy to help.
FURTHER READING
Star-ting FAST By Alex Abrams, Sports Business Playbook 📺
Arsenal’s bold partnership with Labrum London By Jude Ajibewa ⚽️
Gujarat Titans To Get New Owner? As CVC in talks to sell IPL’s Gujarat Titans stake for ‘US$1bn’ By Vipul Londhe, 10 Bits Sports 🏏
Sports Residencies Present Opportunity to Connect with Fans, Attract Partners By Corey Leff, JohnWallStreet 🏀
F.C. Como Women pulled off one of the best rebrands in sports By Cory Bernstine ⚽️
How Overheard At Wimbledon Was Made By Alex Kopilow, Sponcon Sports 🎾
PODCAST
Ending earlier this month with a conversation alongside LALIGA Studios’ Business Director, Flora Bell, the Sports Pundit Podcast has had some other wonderful conversations.
Conversations like;
Fuelling European interest in Baseball ⚾️
How Snapchat is engaging the next generation of sports fans 👻
Captivating motorsport fans in new ways 🏎️
Why people and businesses should lead more consciously 🤔
Making space for women in sports and technology 👩🔧
SOCIAL CLUB
The Sports Pundit Social Club is a monthly series of industry Happy Hours happening in New York and London.
These free gatherings are designed to connect individuals who might not meet at conventional industry events. Our community includes senior and junior executives from rightsholders, founders of venture-backed startups, private equity investors, and even (a few) professional footballers, all bringing unique value to the table - and very rarely mixing in other settings.
With July events now behind us, make sure to RSVP now for August👇
New York 🗽 (Wednesday 28th August @ Maxwell Social)
London 🎡 (Wednesday 28th August @ Eight Club London, Moorgate)
JOB BOARD
Head of Fan Marketing - Lego (London, UK)
Manager Advertising Strategy & Planning - PGA TOUR (London, UK)
Commercial Partnerships Manager - Manchester City Women (Manchester, UK)
Manager, Flag Football (Global Growth & Strategy) - National Football League (New York, US)
Senior Coordinator, Club Performance - Major League Soccer (New York, US)
To see these jobs, and more jobs like these, visit the Sports Pundit Job Board, hosted by Peak 72.
P.S. Peak 72 are also delighted to be working with a state-of-the-art partnerships platform to find their new Business Development Rep! If you've got 12+ months sales experience and want to join a fast growing, exciting, culture led environment then this make sure to get in touch with Dan.
Do you have a job you’d like to promote to the amazing readers of this newsletter? Email me 📩
Getting insights and news via email is great, but there's so much untapped knowledge in our community. We want to open up the floor and hear from everyone.
It’s all part of moving from mass emails to meaningful, one-on-one conversations.
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