Tennis player Sloane Stephens leaves behind the biggest name in sportswear.
After four years with Nike, the 2017 US Open champion has signed a new apparel endorsement deal with FP Movement, a sister brand to Free People that sells sportswear staples like track shorts and leggings, as well as apparel. for free time, such as jumpsuits and fleece jackets. . He has been with Nike since 2018 and previously worked with Under Armor for seven years.
With the move, Stephens joins a growing list of athletes, mostly women, who are leaving Nike and other major sportswear brands to join smaller brands: 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin left Fila by FP Movement at the beginning of the year. Olympic gymnast Simone Biles ended her association with Nike in favor of Gap-owned Athleta. Track star Allyson Felix, an 11-time Olympic medalist, left Nike in 2017 after criticizing the sportswear giant for not doing enough to support pregnant athletes. He signed with Athleta two years later and co-founded his own brand, Saysh, in 2021. American steeplechase athlete Colleen Quigley left Nike in 2021 for Lululemon.
The trend represents a new phase in the decades-long quest by female athletes to receive the same public recognition and financial compensation as their male counterparts. Traditionally, signing a deal with a giant brand was seen as the ultimate goal for an athlete, and big corporations like Nike have increased their investment in women’s sports in recent years. But athletes on the payroll of a large company may find themselves competing for resources and attention. Brands often sign players after early career successes, but interest quickly fades if they don’t continue to hit the same highs.
“If you’re with one of those companies and you’re not the number one athlete, if you’re not LeBron, the chances of you getting used to it all the time and people seeing you visibly are pretty low,” Stephens said.
Sportswear and sportswear sales have skyrocketed, with McKinsey projecting that sales will continue to grow at 8-10% annually through 2025. Whether it’s Lululemon and Athleta, newer brands like Outdoor Voices, Girlfriend Collective, or retailers in rapidly expanding like Vuori or Alo Yoga. Not all of them have expanded into traditional athlete sponsorships yet, but they’ve arguably built enough of a reputation among top athletes to see them as a viable alternative.
Partnering with a smaller brand like FP Movement can give athletes a bigger role in the creative process, whether it’s designing their match-day kits or imagining the campaigns they’ll star in.
“We are looking forward to seeing what [Stephens] she’s interested in and what appeals to her from a fashion perspective, and how that starts to impact what we design long term,” said Jack Reynolds, FP Movement’s director of marketing.
To sweeten the deal, these brands often offer athletes specialized care for causes important to them: With her deal with FP Movement, Stephens will also work with her nonprofit partner Girls, Inc., an empowerment-focused charity. feminine. Some may even come with shares in the business. And by partnering with brands that market more directly to women, there’s less concern that they’ll be sidelined by male sports stars.
“Athletes just want to have more of a say in what they wear,” said Alexandra Grayson, director of basketball marketing at sports marketing agency Octagon. “When they work with these other brands, they have the opportunity to have a real impact on products, marketing, campaigns and to see a business grow.”
There’s also more talent to court now that college athletes in the US have the freedom to sign their own branding deals, thanks to a number of states that have passed laws allowing them to benefit from their name, image and likeness, which was previously banned by the NCAA.
Smaller brands sign athletes to signal that “we’re upping the game, we’re not just a pair of leisure pants, but we’re good enough for the best athletes in the world,” said Doug Shabelman, CEO. of Burns Entertainment, a marketing agency specializing in celebrity partnerships.
A sports star can also help put a brand in front of consumers without having to rely as heavily on social media ads, which have become more expensive and less effective since Apple’s privacy changes in 2021.
And while an influencer might post a branded selfie at their daily yoga class, a world-class athlete sporting a logo at a major sporting event offers a different level of gravitas.
“We’re still a pretty small brand, certainly in terms of competitors in the sportswear arena,” Reynolds said. “So to bring [marquee athletes] opening the brand to new audiences is also a key growth point for us.”
Source: news.google.com