Umbro releases its results and plans for world domination
Football boot maker Umbro yesterday revealed that its footwear sales, including the Umbro football boot range, in the UK fell more than 30% to £10 million last year. This followed the launch of flagship Umbro football boots including the Umbro SX and will be disappointing results at a time which has seen increased sales for its rivals Nike, Adidas/Reebok and Puma. Better news for Umbro investors was the rise in pre-tax profit to £26.61 million from £23.01 million in the previous year on overall sales.
On the international front, Umbro boosted its sales of football boots and sports wear in Russia by 40% and in China by 48%. China in particular looks to be a market that Umbro is keen on developing fully (who isn’t these days?) as it announced it would be trebling the number of shops there from 1000 to 3000 over the coming years. In the UK, Umbro saw sales of the England kit rise by 26.1% last year, driven by the World Cup, but sales fell towards the end of the year as the reality of England’s performance set in.
In the UK Umbro recently announced major sponsorship deals with 6 football teams. Fans will see players from Hull City, Birmingham City, West Ham United, Sunderland, Hearts and Leeds United Football Club (Ladies team) in Umbro kits soon after a flurry of recent deals.
Our Verdict: As Umbro expands into new clubs and new markets, we have some ideas we would like to see the Umbro boffins look into:
- a football boot that makes an England player perform as he does for his club (The Lampard)
- a boot that has an arrow indicating exactly where the goal is (for Arsenal strikers)
- a kit so garish and bright so the opposition fail to play and the team wins every match (sorry Chelsea’s away kit already does that)
- a ball that screams and falls flat on the ground each time it is even lightly touched (The Ronaldo)
- a football shirt with a cigarette lighter attached, because they keep losing their matches (West Ham)
What would you like Umbro to produce? Let us know.
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boB said: Comment 15 March, 2007 @ 10:26 am
Umbro to produce shops selling their own brand and nothing else, at a affordable price (that superior than Adidas and Nike combined) that should be available only for the UK with no exporting jobs to foreign countries? It’s crazy the cost of training clothing, i.e. kitbag and prosportuk. Adidas and Nike are far too overdominating, making it difficult for umbro to be seriously competitive.
a ball that screams and falls flat on the ground each time it is even lightly touched (The Ronaldo) wonder if Umbro could or have already produced a pair of football boots that give 110% protection for the metatarsals (all five bones in the forefoot).