Chanel entered the sport of rowing with the Oxford-Cambridge regatta
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The annual boat race between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge will be renamed after a watch designer as part of a multi-year partnership with Chanel, in the French fashion house’s first foray into sports sponsorship sector.
From next year, the annual rowing competition will be renamed “Chanel J12 Boat Race”, named after a high-end watch produced by a private luxury goods company.
Chanel will replace Gemini, a cryptocurrency exchange founded by the Winklevoss twins, as the event’s main partner and become the event’s official timekeeper.
“This long-standing partnership is an expression of our shared philosophy, one of an uncompromising pursuit of excellence that relies on a collective effort to succeed,” said Chanel and Boat Race.
The competition, which takes place every spring on the River Thames, is a fixture on the UK sporting and social calendar and attracts around 250,000 spectators along its four-mile route through west London.
No sponsorship value was disclosed.
But according to records with Companies House, Boat Race, the limited company that receives money from commercial transactions related to the race, last year paid the two universities’ boat clubs a total of £500,000.
Sponsorship profits of £97,407 were also distributed to the Oxford and Cambridge Rowing Foundation, a charity.
The first competition was held in 1829, with the men’s race becoming an annual event in 1856 and the women’s race joining in 1929. The contract with Chanel will last at least until 2029 , as the men’s and women’s races mark their 200th and 100th anniversaries.
Last year, the regatta attracted some unwelcome headlines after tests carried out by a campaign group showed “dangerously high” levels of E.coli bacteria in the river due to pollution. contamination from wastewater.
Chanel, owned by the billionaire Wertheimer family and headquartered in London, is one of the most famous names in fashion, but has not previously followed its rival in sports sponsorship. .
Most of its ambassadors come from Hollywood, such as actors Margot Robbie and Penélope Cruz, and the music industry, including K-Pop star Jennie. Last year the company has made a profit worth 6.4 billion USD on revenue of 19.7 billion USD.
Sports goods and luxury goods have long been intertwined. Watch manufacturer Omega has been the official timekeeper for the Olympic Games since 1932 and became a global sponsor in 2004.
Hublot is a partner of the Fifa World Cup in 2022, while Rolex has been a sponsor of Wimbledon for decades and Formula 1 for several years.
Fashion brands are increasingly appearing in the sports world.
American designer Ralph Lauren produced uniforms for Team USA at the Olympics and for tennis officials at Wimbledon, Giorgio Armani designed the outfits for the Italian men’s soccer team at Euro 2024, while Gucci has recruited tennis player Jannik Sinner and women’s soccer player Leah Williamson as ambassadors.
While Louis Vuitton is a longtime title sponsor of the America’s Cup sailing race, parent company LVMH has recently increased its presence in the sports sector.
The world’s largest luxury goods company sponsored the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and recently announced 10 year contract worth about 1 billion USD to become F1’s leading commercial partner. The Arnault family controls LVMH as well in negotiations to acquire Paris FC, a second division team.
