The English Premier League (EPL), nicknamed ‘the biggest show on earth’, kicked off on the 6th. Liverpool, Tottenham, and Manchester United (Man United), including ‘defending champion’ Manchester City (Man City), foretold fierce competition for the championship. 600 million households from 212 countries will be watching this exciting show.
The EPL itself is a powerful ‘marketing channel’ as the world’s attention is focused. This is why global companies spend hundreds of billions of dollars to engrave logos on Premier League team uniforms. There was a Korean company that took part in this astronomical ‘War of Money’. This is Samsung Electronics. We have been sponsoring Chelsea for 10 years since 2005 and imprinted the brand ‘SAMSUNG’ in European consumers.
The company that inherited the baton is Hyundai Motor Company. Hyundai Motor has been in partnership with Chelsea for four years since 2018. By sponsoring £10 million a year (about KRW 16 billion), we were able to have the Hyundai logo on the sleeve of a Chelsea jersey. Hyundai Motor, which was thought to end with ‘Beautiful Companion’, meets a reef. In March, it was announced that it would stop sponsoring Chelsea. The aftermath comes after the British government imposed sanctions on Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, who is known to be an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In addition to Chelsea, Hyundai has been sponsoring several European professional football teams. At the end of this season, most clubs will not renew their contracts. In fact, you can’t find the Hyundai logo on AS Roma, Olympique Lyonne, and Hertha Berlin’s all-season uniforms. As Hyundai Motor’s status in Europe has risen, it is analyzed that marketing that simply exposes the logo on the uniform is no longer effective.
Even in the midst of this, there is a club that Hyundai Motor continues to connect with. Atlético Madrid (AT Madrid) of the Spanish La Liga. You can check Hyundai Motors from the list of partner companies posted on the AT Madrid official website, and the Hyundai Motor Company logo is clearly engraved on the sleeves of this season’s uniforms.
Manchester City are currently considered the strongest team in the Premier League. They have lifted the trophy four times in the last five seasons. This season, he is considered one of the strongest contenders for the title. In the opening game held on the 8th, they took off West Ham 2-0 and started off happily. Elling Hollan, nicknamed the ‘monster striker’, scored a multi-goal and successfully made his EPL debut. As Halan celebrated his goal, the familiar corporate logo was on the left sleeve of his jersey. It was NEXEN TIRE. We have been sponsoring Manchester City since 2015 and have been together for the 8th season. In addition to Man City, NEXEN TIRE is increasing its recognition in Europe by sponsoring Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany’s Bundesliga, AC Milan in Italy’s Serie A, and SK Slavia Prague, a Czech professional football team.
Meanwhile, after the first half of this year, the domestic stock market whistle blew in the second half. Hyundai Motor and NEXEN TIRE are drawing an upward curve. Hyundai Motor shares have risen more than 10% in three months, reaching 200,000 won. ‘Surprising earnings’ in the second quarter boosted the stock price. The outlook for the second half looks bright. Kim Jin-woo, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, said, “Most of the 640,000 unsold domestic vehicles are high value-added models such as SUVs and Genesis. It is also positive that exports are expanding as the won-dollar exchange rate continues to rise above the 1,300 won range.
After hitting the lowest point (5,150 won) on the 4th of last month, NEXEN TIRE has soared about 30%. On the 12th, it closed at 6,700 won, up 80 won (1.21%) from the previous day. We plan to announce our second quarter results on the 16th. According to FnGuide, a financial information company, NEXEN TIRE is expected to record an operating loss of KRW 25 billion in the second quarter of this year. Analysts cited rising raw material prices and soaring logistics costs as factors contributing to the sluggish performance. However, from the third quarter, it is predicted that profitability will improve as the supply and demand for automotive semiconductors improves and raw material prices and logistics costs stabilize.
By Park Byung-jun, staff reporter real@hankyung.com