Express Freight Group Net Logistics Contract with Top Football Club

GERMANY – WORLDWIDE – With so much of the world now shopping online to the detriment of traditional methods many logistics groups are benefitting from the rapidly rising numbers of home deliveries, and that seems to be the impetus behind express freight and parcels group DHL which has just signed up as an official platinum partner and the new international logistics and eCommerce full-service partner of German football giants FC Bayern Munich.

DHL has been associated with the club for years and has been responsible for the transfer of merchandise to fans, something which will now be extended by way of the international eCommerce expertise of the logistics company. As with so many of the major sports clubs the appeal to fans is now measured globally and Bayern, headed up by Executive Board Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, himself a superstar with two European Footballer of the Year awards and a host of international honours, is ready to expand its fan base.

There is hardly any other sport that moves fans around the world as football does and in addition to Germany and the United States, China and other Asian countries are rapidly expanding growth markets for football. To reach these fans around the world, teams need logistics: the industry creates a game-changing competitive edge for leading clubs like FC Bayern Munich, particularly in the increasingly critical area of merchandise shipping. Such benefits include deliveries made within hours on the day an order was placed, flexible delivery and return time frames as well as strong logistics and added-value concepts. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge commented:

"FC Bayern Munich is now a global player whose fan base is constantly expanding in a large number of countries and on all continents. We just completed our summer tour in the United States. This trip showed us once again just how much potential we have in international markets. With DHL acting as our experienced, globally respected partner, we intend to further expand our online touchpoints with our fans around the world and thus our international merchandising."

For years now, the Group's Deutsche Post brand has been a partner of the German Football Association (DFB) and an official sponsor of the association's national Cup competition and the German men's football team. In the first phase of the new partnership, fans and visitors to the Allianz Arena in Munich can use the DHL store to ship merchandise from the FC Bayern Megastore directly to their homes and, as part of the new arrangement, DHL has obtained broad advertising rights to go along with its collaboration. These rights will include the filming of advertising spots, PR events and the use of a shared partner logo.

Photo: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge hands a personalised shirt to DHL boss Frank Appel.