Sealegs Becomes Official Marine Partner of the All Blacks
04 August 2010
The world's leading manufacturer of amphibious
boats, today signed an agreement with the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) to sponsor the world famous All Blacks, as
their official marine partner for the next six years.
This partnership will mean Sealegs can
assimilate the brand values of the All Blacks with their product, which share
common themes of innovation, hard work and reliability. “Both Sealegs and the
All Blacks are strong, reliable and truly New Zealand made,” said Sealegs CEO, David McKee Wright. “Over
time we hope Sealegs can strive to match the legendary status of the All Blacks
around the world.”
This deal was initiated by Eric Series, the owner of
Avenport Investment Corporation,Sealegs's largest shareholder. " Eric had
the vision of this partnership. He felt how Sealegs could benefit overseas from
the strongest New Zealand brand."David McKee Wright added.
As the world’s leading manufacturer of
amphibious boats, Sealegs is based in Auckland, New Zealand, where the Sealegs
concept was first invented and continues to be manufactured, while the majority
of its products are sold and used by customers all over the world.
“The success and strength of the All Black
name is something Sealegs is very proud to be associated with and we look
forward to working together to build a valuable partnership for ourselves, the
team, and of course, the fans,” added David McKee Wright. “We’re confident that
the alliance between the values of Sealegs and those of the All Blacks will
support our global sales strategy.”
NZRU
CEO, Steve Tew said that the All Blacks and its
management were pleased to have the support of such an innovative New Zealand
company and brand.: “As a company, Sealegs
represents all that New Zealand is proud of – ingenuity, innovation and the
right attitude to go out and get the job done – which are all ideals held
dear to the team and what we set out to achieve with every game,” he said. “We
are proud to have the support of this iconic kiwi company and look forward to
working with them up to 2016.”
The announcement comes just days after the
company’s AGM, where McKee Wright outlined the company’s upcoming developments,
which includes a focus on Europe, and in particular, France.
He said that in researching Sealegs’ target
demographic, it was discovered that people following the All Blacks in Europe
fitted the customer profile of people in Sealegs target market segment: “Sealegs has a global vision and the All
Blacks are a global brand which is held in the highest esteem throughout
Europe; this partnership can only be positive for the two institutions.”
There are now over 450 Sealegs amphibious
boats in 25 countries worldwide and the company recently announced a $642,000
operating profit on sales of $11.4m for the year ending March 31, 2010.
