Tennis stalwart gets partnered up

MELBOURNE: Sportswear specialist Sfida Sports International has taken on a new guise as the official apparel and footwear partner for Tennis Victoria.
Sfida managing director Joseph Baker said the label had a strong tennis heritage that would be enhanced by a joint venture with the governing body of Victorian Tennis.
The partnership will spring into action next month with the launch of a Tennis Victoria members' apparel offer covering men's, women's and kids active and tenniswear.
Baker said prices were still being finalised for the range, with activewear component to feature printed T-shirts and sweatshirts while the tenniswear range would include polo shirts, skirts, shorts and tracksuits.
"The range is designed to be good value for money and will give Sfida good exposure to its target audience."
Sfida - replacing sportswear brand Diadora as official partner to Tennis Victoria following Diadora's shift away from tennis into other sports categories - was positioned below high profile sportswear labels such as Adidas, Puma and Nike.
This meant it was "continually on the lookout for novel forms of promotion", Baker said.
"Because Sfida sells on value and good prices, we tend not to advertise the conventional way, so partnerships such as this are an ideal brand-building exercise."
The members' range would be distributed through the body's 700-strong affiliated clubs, gaining access to a potential customer base of around 90,000, he added.
The partnership would also see Sfida outfitting Tennis Victoria's state teams and taking on support sponsorship of grassroots initiatives including the Tennis Victoria Pennant Competition; the Victorian Claycourt Championships; and the Victorian Junior Competition, he said.
"We are excited about the partnership with Tennis Victoria and look forward to exploring different ways to show our support. We want to re-establish our tennis heritage, especially at the grass roots level," Baker said.