February 16, 2011 – Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) announced today that they have appointed The Wild East Group, India’s leading business development and licensing agency, to help develop their brand’s sports merchandising program, globally. The Wild East Group will be working exclusively with KKR to secure best-in-class licensing partners across a range of apparel, fan merchandise, sports equipment, and other popular lifestyle categories.
Sid Shah, President of The Wild East Group said, “We are honored to be working with the KKR team, India’s most successful sports franchise. The IPL has become one of the world’s largest sports associations in a very short amount of time, and KKR is a key building block to the association’s success. When you think about pure marketing power, KKR has paved the way in terms of brand placements, sponsorships, and popularity. KKR has consistently demonstrated the ability to run their organization in a very sophisticated and forward thinking manner, and we are proud to have been assigned to help them extend their reach into new areas and to bring the brand to life through new licensed collaborations.”
Venky Mysore, Managing Director of KKR, comments: “I believe brand KKR has become one of the most valuable brands in India and presents significant opportunity in merchandising and licensing. We expect the partnership with Wild East Group to be able to leverage these opportunities for fans globally as well as to bring synergies to other brands.”
About Kolkata Knight Riders:
The Knight Riders represent the city of Kolkata in the Indian Premier League. KKR is one of the most visible and trusted sports brands in the country. The team plays it’s home matches at the Eden Gardens, one of the greatest venues in world cricket. KKR is owned by Shahrukh Khan, Juhi Chawla and Jay Mehta and headed by CEO and Managing Director, Venky Mysore.
The Knight Riders are led on the field by Gautam Gambhir and the young and dynamic squad includes some of the finest players in international cricket like Jacques Kallis, Brett Lee, Brendon McCullum, Yusuf Pathan and Manoj Tiwary. The coaching staff is headed by Trevor Bayliss, who can count on pace legend Wasim Akram and Vijay Dahiya for support.
About The Wild East Group:
The Wild East Group, a boutique business development and licensing agency with a focus on the Indian market, extends brands through the creative development of licensed products and strategic partnerships. The company works with Tier 1 brands and other high-profile clients to leverage licensing as a strategic tool to enhance brand awareness, increase consumer touch-points, and generate revenue. Headquartered in Mumbai, India, The Wild East Group’s global reach includes offices in Los Angeles with affiliates around the world. For more information, please visit www.wildeastgroup.com.
Contact:
President: Sid Shah
sid@wildeastgroup.com