Wimbledon woos Asia

Continuing on yesterday’s theme of Asian fashion fetishes and luxury brand indulgences here’s a look into how the biggest brand in tennis - Wimbledon is cashing in on Asia’s nouveau riche, and how China and India, with their fast-growing economies, have provided a fertile ground for Wimbledon in an ambitious bid to export its distinctive brand right around the globe.

“Europe is a very mature market and it is very difficult to introduce the Wimbledon brand in depth there. Asia is a land of opportunity,” McCowen told Reuters.

“This is the fastest expanding market in the world for merchandising. Asia is booming,” said Wimbledon marketing director Robert McCowen.

“Asians love brands and prefer to spend money on luxury goods rather than on their homes.”

Elaborating on their 14 new merchandising shops in China, McCowen added “We are told there is a growing middle class in the cities. Lots of young people live with their parents and have low expenditure,” he said.

Hence all the spare cash to shell out on designer clothes as he said “The young people are really keen on lifestyle.”

India is an equally alluring market for Wimbledon to set out its designer wares.

“We even had a limited edition of 10,000 scooters in India — that was a fun thing,” he said.

The fast-rising Asian players certainly help to raise the profile of tennis with China’s Na Li reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2006 and India’s Sania Mirza even managing to knock the cricketers off the front page.

Their heightened profile could also boost the television market for Wimbledon which is currently seen in 180 countries. “There is room for a lot more expansion in Asian TV rights,” McCowen said.