NEW DELHI: Australian fast bowler, Brett Lee, has got a new endorsement. The Boston based sports shoes brand is spreading its business in India through Royal Sporting House (RSH) and has signed on Brett Lee to endorse 'New Balance' range of footwear and apparels.
The range of footwear will be priced between Rs 995 to Rs 2995 and will be available through RSH stores and at Shopper's Stop all over the country. "We are currently available in 43 outlets in India and by the year end, we should be able to open 60 odd more stores across 11 cities," informed Bhupendra Nagpal, the CEO of RSH.
The company plans to spend Rs 2 crore for promoting the New Balance range of footwear and the onus of using Brett Lee in product campaigns will be with RSH. The company has hired Mumbai based advertising agency IB&W for handling the Brett Lee campaigns and media planning and buying. The work on the ad campaign would begin in September when Lee is back in India.
Currently Brett Lee is endorsing Timex watches, TVS Victor GLX 125 along with Sachin Tendulkar and Shoab Akhtar and Royal Stag with his captain Ricky Ponting. The RSH has set a target of selling 50,000 pairs of New Balance within this year.
Globally New Balance prides itself on its philosophy of “Endorsed by No One.” Instead of using their advertising budget to pay for celebrity athletes, New Balance puts that money into research, design, and domestic manufacturing.
"But the Indian market needs a celebrity for products to be seen and Brett Lee is number one fast bowler in the world hence we decided to use him," added Nagpal. Globally the top three main competitors of New Balance are Nike, Reebok, and Adidas.
- ASHISH SINHA