NEW YORK — A high-stakes competition for fashion — as well as tennis — supremacy will be played out at the U.S. Open starting Monday.
The two-week tournament at the National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y., is one of the most glamorous spectacles in sports and more fashion and beauty companies than ever are trying to cash in on the cachet of the event.
Nike, Lacoste, Tag Heuer, Adidas and Parlux are among the firms attempting to leverage the Open’s appeal to affluent consumers. Polo Ralph Lauren is the tournament’s new apparel sponsor and the company has ambitious marketing plans, including special collections and a 3,000-square-foot store on site. (See related story.)
“There is a lot riding on the Open, both for the corporate sponsors as well as the athletes,” said Tracy Evans, an agent at Athlete Source, a sports marketing agency in Pacific Palisades, Calif. “It provides companies with a significant amount of exposure.”
The tournament is projected to draw more than 600,000 visitors during its run, making it the best-attended annual event in the sports world. Just as important to the apparel and beauty companies, the average spectator has an income in excess of $150,000 a year, according the the U.S. Tennis Association, which organizes the event.
At the Open, multimillion-dollar sponsorship contracts are born and die, new fashion trends emerge and business deals are cemented in luxury suites serving champagne and lobster.
Trends from the Open usually trickle down to retail, though for the biggest athletic companies, such as Nike and Adidas, tennis represents a small part of overall business.
“I think anything that tennis celebrities are wearing certainly gives direction to the fashions at the grassroots level,” said Maria Stefan, president of Ellesse USA, which makes tennis and other apparel. “We live in a celebrity-driven culture, people always look at what the stars are wearing, especially if they are winning. The Open is an aspirational event.”
Star players, from Serena and Venus Williams to Maria Sharapova, as well as Roger Federer and Andy Roddick, are young, successful, well-spoken and attractive, placing them on the A-list of marketers.
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Topping it all off, the tournament — broadcast on the CBS and USA television networks — is the last of tennis’ annual Grand Slam events and unfolds in the business and media capital of the world, luring starlets, corporate and political big shots and other athletes.
The players’ attire also will take center court. The Open has generated some memorable fashion moments — Serena Williams’ denim and leather outfits last year and Anna Kournikova’s short, body-hugging dresses — and athletic firms use the matches to showcase their latest innovations in technology and style. Many of those looks are then introduced in consumer collections that are sold and marketed around the Open, and often are available at retail in following seasons.
For the second consecutive year, Lacoste will have a 1,200-square-foot store at the tennis center and a special collection of Open-themed looks available. Lacoste is also now the sponsor for Roddick, who is featured in the company’s new advertising campaign.
“The Open has become a major marketing strategy for us,” Robert Siegel, chairman of Lacoste USA, said in an interview. “Lacoste has a long history with tennis. While we are not a performance brand, we are a sports lifestyle brand and this is our absolute target market.”
The fashion world takes advantage of the Open’s New York City venue to stage events that feature players with whom they have endorsement deals, often in the millions.
Lacoste had an event with Roddick at Macy’s Herald Square on Tuesday to introduce its new men’s in-store shop, and he is slated for a soiree tonight for the annual Taste of Tennis fund-raiser.
Sharapova, who stunned the tennis world by defeating Serena Williams for the Wimbledon title last year, has been stumping for sponsors Nike and Tag Heuer, and made an appearance on the “Today” show. She is scheduled at an event tonight for Parlux to bow her new fragrance.
Serena Williams has appearances set for today for cosmetics brand Flirt and this evening with Range Rover. Adidas has a soiree planned at its Manhattan flagship this afternoon with Andre Agassi — the company’s newest sponsored athlete — and Federer and other players are scheduled at a party for Vogue Men tonight.
On Friday, the Women’s Tennis Association and the Tennis Channel are hosting “Grand Slam ‘O5,” a fete for some women players where they will be treated to hair and makeup stylings, as well as designer frocks from Bill Blass and diamonds from Kwiat, before they head to the WTA kick-off party.
The Open is also a major event for sponsors such as Tiffany & Co., Citizen and Macy’s, as well as Lexus, American Express, IBM, Heineken, Sprint and Continental Airlines.
Citizen has been a sponsor of the Open for 13 years and the company recently extended its partnership through 2010. Alyson Gottlieb, Citizen’s director of public relations and advertising, said Citizen supplies the courtside clocks and scoreboards, and also has a luxury suite.
“The U.S. Open is one of our largest marketing initiatives and we tie it in a lot with our retail partners,” Gottlieb said. “It’s also a great way for us to entertain our retailers.”
The women’s competition is dominated by champions from the past, along with some up-and-coming Russian players. Among the leading players, in addition to the top-ranked Sharapova and Williams sisters, are Lindsay Davenport, Justine Henin-Hardenne, Kim Clijsters, Amelie Mauresmo, Elena Dementieva and last year’s Open winner, Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Many of the apparel looks on tap for players seem slightly more subdued and feminine, with less of the razzle-dazzle sometimes on display. While the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association doesn’t break out sales of tennis apparel, a source there estimated tennis sales are about $1 billion. Overall athletic apparel sales last year were an estimated $38 billion.
Fila’s Tournament collection is primarily white with simple color blocking. Patti Gallagher, Fila’s global product manager for tennis apparel, said the collection comprises high-performance fabrics that wick moisture and also have sun protection, and will be worn by all of the Fila-sponsored players, including Clijsters.
“The U.S. Open is a great opportunity for us to debut a new collection,” Gallagher said. “We test new product and materials with athletes during the off season or during practice to ensure it meets all of our performance and fit specifications.”
The Tournament collection is available now for consumers at select stores, and retails for about $45 to $75.
For more than 20 years, Fila was the Open’s apparel sponsor, until Polo took over this year, but Gallagher said: “While we are no longer the sponsor, tennis is our heritage and this is one of the most important categories in our company now. We are still sponsoring other sporting events and we are expanding our presence internationally.”
Sharapova likely will be the most closely watched woman player. The stylish 18-year-old is a media darling and has racked up an impressive roster of sponsors, including Nike, Tag Heuer, Prince and Motorola. At an event this week, Sharapova showed one new look she will be wearing, a fitted light blue A-line dress with yellow piping.
Nike also is outfitting Serena Williams, known for her flashy style on the court, and Davenport, who usually sports more subdued looks. Williams has toned down her attire for this year’s Open. She is slated to wear a white-and-purple spandex and polyester dress with a pleated skirt.
Davenport, meanwhile, is planning to sport a crewneck tank top and matching Nike Sphere skirt. These items are also all available at retail at Niketown and other stores. Nike also will have a 1,700-square-foot shop at the Tennis Center.
Adidas is outfitting Henin-Hardenne, who is slated to wear looks from the company’s tennis competition collection, which includes ClimaCool technology, said a company spokeswoman. Adidas also is planning a guerrilla marketing campaign in which some of its employees will be running around New York acting as a tennis team to draw attention to the tournament and drive shoppers to the store, the spokeswoman said. Proceeds from some sales will go to Agassi’s foundation.
Reebok no longer has an endorsement deal with Venus Williams, but she has continued to wear the brand on court, including her win at Wimbledon this year, and is expected to sport it again this time around. Reebok also will outfit its sponsored players, such as Nicole Vaidisova and Mauresmo, both of whom helped design their looks. Mauresmo will appear in a violet Rbk branded tennis tank top and skirt, while Vaidisova will wear a pink tennis dress, said a Reebok spokeswoman.