As before each PSG match, there is total uncertainty regarding the composition of the team which will be aligned by this little secretive Luis Enrique this Friday evening against Rennes. What we already know, however, is the unusual color of the jersey with which the Parisians will enter the pitch. PSG will debut its new third jersey for this season on this 6th day of Ligue 1. After last year’s black, it’s time for pale pink, with a black stripe from top to bottom placed in the middle, giving it a little air of the Palermo jersey from the Pastore era. “A creation which symbolizes the alliance of Parisian luxury and sporting performance”, praises the club press release.
The unveiling of this third jersey has become an event appreciated and awaited by supporters, particularly since the start of the partnership with the Jordan brand, in 2018. This collaboration allowed PSG to display on its jersey third – and even fourth now – the famous “Jumpman” logo, a recognizable symbol of the Chicago Bulls legend. An image that speaks to the whole world, and which has created an unprecedented bridge between football and basketball. A stroke of marketing genius, accelerated by the arrival in 2017 of Neymarwho had been doing business with Her Majesty MJ since the previous year.
“PSG’s interest was on two levels: economic, with the increase in sales of its jerseys, and image. We can say that the club has succeeded in its bet, believes Guillaume Bodet, professor of marketing and sports management at the University of Lyon 1. It has broken sales records, and the perception of the PSG brand has completely changed. foreign, because by being a partner of Jordan, he had access to other distribution networks, linked to basketball, particularly in North America and Asia. »
If we can easily criticize certain sporting choices of the Parisian club in recent years, with the consequences of improbable eliminations in the Champions League, we must recognize that its development on the business side has been a real success. In the latest Money League report from Deloittewhich is a reference in the matter, we learn that PSG has exceeded 800 million euros in revenue for the first time in its history in 2023, with record growth of 23% compared to the previous year. A figure which places it in third position among the top European clubs, behind Real Madrid and Manchester City.
Among these 800 million, 400 come from the commercial part. In 2017, the latter represented “only” 274 million (for overall revenues of 486 million euros). Neither PSG nor Jordan wished to communicate on the income generated from sales resulting from their collaboration, but the link is obvious. According to the few figures available, PSG sold 40,000 “Jumpman” branded jerseys the weekend following the announcement, in 2018, and 150,000 at the end of the first month. At the end of the season, the mark of 800,000 jerseys had been reached, then that of a million during the next one, assured development director Fabien Allègre. has The Team.
PSG has moved beyond the simple sporting framework
A “lifestyle” line was then added to the football jerseys, including basketball jersey-style T-shirts and sneakers. “This partnership is very interesting, because it is not a simple association. PSG and Jordan went beyond that, creating new clothing lines, new styles, which were very popular, explains Guillaume Bodet. This allowed the club to go beyond the simple sporting framework, to reach a wider audience, while also playing on the Paris City of Lights, city of luxury aspect. » It’s no coincidence that in recent years we’ve seen Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Rihanna, Pharrell Williams and Selena Gomez passing by at the Parc des Princes.
All this accompanied by a policy of purchasing big names to finish placing PSG in the global landscape. A Jordan jersey with the name of Neymar, Lionel Messi or Kylian Mbappé on the back becomes a collector’s jersey, which is worn almost more in everyday life than at the stadium to watch a match.
However, it will have escaped no one’s notice that this “PSG bling bling”as President Nasser Al-Khelaïfi himself called it, it is officially over. Luis Enrique arrived at the start of last season to put the house in order and initiate a shift towards a general state of mind more focused on the collective. Mbappé left at the end of June, there is not a head left in the current squad. Should we also see, indirectly, a change in the club’s marketing strategy?
“Not necessarily,” replies our specialist. The important thing is notoriety. They perhaps consider that today they are sufficiently well known and that they no longer need it to continue in this dynamic. »Giving absolute priority to the field and sporting consistency is not a bad calculation either.
Soon the end?
Thanks to a vast study carried out among Chinese football fans, Guillaume Bodet and his team have established the six determining criteria for a person to become attached to a club. “The first factor is sporting results, ahead of the presence of stars and all that is marketing,” he points out. After the glittery take-off phase, we can therefore consider that getting into orbit will require success on the ground, that is to say winning a European Cup.
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As for the partnership with Jordan Brand, no one yet knows what it will become. Some media recently announced an amicable separation at the end of next season. Information denied by the Sportune websiteand neither party wished to comment. The only element that was transmitted to us was the release this season of a new collection “with an ever more elevated style and close to the world of luxury”. The end of this collaboration would “surprise” Guillaume Bodet, at least from a strictly strategic point of view. “The doors opened by Jordan are very numerous and very interesting,” he notes. I don’t see any equivalent in the world of sport. »