read the full interview in retailer magazine here

First Account
Liverpool Football Club
Going all-out in India
In a candid conversation with Gunjan
Piplani, Marie-louise Culbert, Head
of Licensing at Liverpool Football Club,
discusses the huge potential for sports’
licensing in India and the need to look
beyond cricket.
Kindly throw light on the
brand, Liverpool and its
legacy across the globe?
Liverpool Football Club was
founded in 1892, and played its
home games at Anfield, which is
globally recognised, ever since.
Our Club has won 18 League
Championships and numerous
other trophies, to become
England’s most successful team.
We also play in the English
Premier League and enjoy a
world-wide fan following.
How are you growing your
licensing and merchandising
activities, globally?
94 RETAILER march-April 2013
Liverpool FC Retail runs 5 stores
in the UK and an online store
which ships to over 180 countries
worldwide. The club is also in
discussions with a number of
partners to open Liverpool FC
stores in other countries around
the globe.
Liverpool FC has a strong
licensing programme in Europe,
and appointed licensees and
agents for merchandising around
the globe.
How do you plan your
licensing strategy?
Liverpool Football Club is
selective in the appointment of
licensing partners with the aim
of ensuring partners enhance
the goodwill and reputation of
Liverpool Football Club, in a
particular region. We also have
a long-term partnership with
Carlsberg, in terms of exclusivity
for beer supplies.
Which are the product
categories you operate in,
globally?
Globally we have licensees in
most categories, from sports and
fashion apparel, stationery and
souvenir items.
Do you plan to bring these
product categories also to the
Indian market?
For India, we will be launching
a complete lifestyle package.
We are happy to bring these
categories from overseas to
the Indian market and will
be working closely with our
licensing agency, Bradford
License India.
Kindly share your views on the
www.indianretailer.com
Sports in India
is dominated by
cricket, but football
is fast gaining
popularity.
and running of the licensing
programme, here. Bradford
License India would play a
key role in finding licensing
opportunities, marketing,
identifying partners and also
recruiting for the same.
How do you plan to reach
consumers here?
Our target audience is boys and
girls, eight years and older, apart
from the existing Liverpool fans.
We are planning a marketing and
licensing strategy to reach them.
Are you focusing on
traditional store formats or
portals here to build your
presence?
We plan to sell through both the
formats, brick and mortar, as
well as online.
What is the competitive
landscape for you, here?
Sports in India is dominated
by cricket, but football is fast
gaining popularity. IPL, the
cricket league, has a strong
licensing program. For us, the
competition here is also from
other overseas football clubs
eyeing this market.
licensing and retail market
here? Is it different from
overseas?
Internationally, licensing is
not restricted to characters or
entertainment brands only, and
sports, music and celebrities
help make licensing a huge
market. On the retail front also,
international markets are more
organised, with TESCO and WalMart who have the lion’s share of
the business.
Licensing is still at a nascent
stage here, with a major focus
on character and entertainment
licensing.
Licensing for sport’s activities
has shown potential here, but the
role of organised retail trade is
still very limited.
What is the role of Bradford
License India?
They would represent and guide
Liverpool FC in the establishment
Kindly throw light on your
marketing strategies to
connect with consumers here?
We are eyeing the B2B strategy
for Indian market, and as part
of that strategy, we will be
participating in exhibitions
here, including, Brand Licensing
India, a part of Franchise India
Exhibition. We will also be eyeing
road-shows and conferences.
Role of social media?
Millions of our fans are on
various social networking sites
and for us it is important to
actively engage with them.
march-April 2013 RETAILER 95