Cricket Australia and adidas: partnership for the future

Company release, May 5, 2005

New Delhi

Cricket Australia and global sports manufacturer adidas have joined forces in a four-year partnership that will see all Australian and state teams wearing revolutionary adidas-designed playing uniforms from October 2005.

And, for the first time, cricket fans will see the Australian team in separate, specially designed adidas home and away strips to differentiate series played on local shores and abroad.

Other features of the partnership include tailor-cut playing uniforms for Australia’s female players – traditionally, the women’s uniforms have followed a male design – and International Cricket Council (ICC) approval to incorporate adidas’ three-stripe design on the limited-overs playing uniforms.

The four-year partnership brings together two parties with a strong presence in their respective markets.

Australia’s male and female teams are World Cup champions and lead the field in Test cricket. adidas Australia is the market leader in sports apparel, with annual revenue generated by the adidas brand across the world’s Test-playing nations approaches $1.5 billion.

With the deal coming into effect from 1 October 2005, the new adidas uniforms will make their debut when Australia takes on an ICC World XI in the Johnnie Walker ICC Super Series in Melbourne and Sydney. The series represents the ideal platform from which to launch the partnership’s theme of innovation.

Under the partnership, adidas will be the official supplier of:

Uniforms and training apparel for the Australian men’s, women’s and youth teams

Men’s domestic uniforms for the Pura Cup and ING Cup

Women’s domestic uniforms for the Commonwealth Bank Women’s National Cricket League

Uniforms for domestic umpires

Australia’s one-day international playing uniforms will feature adidas’ three stripe design – a hallmark of the adidas brand. Cricket Australia gained approval under the ICC’s clothing and equipment regulations to include the three stripes on the one-day international and domestic playing uniforms as an additional manufacturer’s identification strip.

Cricket Australia Chief Executive Officer Mr James Sutherland said the partnership represented an ideal opportunity for both organisations to strengthen their brand values and performance targets.

“We are delighted to welcome adidas aboard as a valued partner of Australian cricket,” said Mr Sutherland.

“Commercial partners underpin the financial security of our game. We are looking forward to working with adidas in building a strong relationship for our teams and cricket supporters.

“There is a natural values fit between adidas and Australian cricket in fostering innovation and respecting tradition. We now have a real opportunity to create and build a formidable association around this connection.

“Part of Australian cricket’s strategy is to achieve success on the field, and this target is helped through the support of apparel which is technologically designed and tailored for cricket’s demands.

“In welcoming adidas to our portfolio, we extend our gratitude to SM Brands (Fila) who have supported Australian cricket since 2001.”

Regarded as an industry leader, adidas has tailored its revolutionary three-dimensional apparel technology to cricket.

The ‘ForMotion’ concept, which features specific fabric combinations and sculpted designs to accommodate a full range of movement, has been developed to ensure Australian cricket teams can maximise performance.

adidas Australia Managing Director Mr Kevin Roberts agrees that the partnership between adidas and Australia’s national sport is a natural fit.

“Innovation is widely acknowledged as a sustainable source of competitive advantage. Recent product developments have positioned adidas as the world’s most innovative sports brand and this same spirit of innovation represents the foundation of adidas’ partnership with Cricket Australia,” said Mr Roberts.

“We value the enthusiasm with which Cricket Australia embraces our three-dimensional ‘ForMotion’ apparel in the pursuit of heightened on-field performance. Off the field, Cricket Australia has also identified strongly with adidas’ desire to fulfil the needs of the contemporary cricket fan by developing home and away replica strips for the first time.

“adidas looks forward to working with Cricket Australia throughout an exciting period that will see further developments in the sport, such as the Twenty20 format which has injected a strong sense of innovation and improvisation into the more traditional forms of the game.”

The Australian uniforms will be produced in Australia while the replica garments will be manufactured off shore.

The replica apparel – including a full range of men’s, women’s and children’s apparel – will be available through adidas’ worldwide retail distribution network.

Australian cricket joins adidas’ stable of global partnerships with sporting teams and organisations including FIFA, the All Blacks and the British Lions.

For more information, please contact:

Stephanie Beltrame

Corporate Communications Officer

Cricket Australia

03 96539927, 0409524482