In commercial news today, it’s been announced Everton have secured a new main sponsor as online car dealership company Cazoo have signed a three-year deal with the Blues.
So who are Cazoo and what does this deal mean for Everton?
This company is a very new online car retailer that was only launched in late 2019 when the company started trading. Apparently they had securing a Premier League sponsorship as a key to their marketing strategy once they had started trading.
The first thing that jumps out to me is the fact that this company is so new. It’s obviously a risk to some extent when agreeing a commercial deal with such a brand new company.
But the company is one of a number of successful businesses set up by Alex Chesterman, who was the founder of hugely successful brands like Zoopla and Lovefilm.
So assuming the company succeeds, which seems likely, then it should represent a good deal for Everton, especially as it could well be a high-growth business as the car industry evolves.
Supposedly the deal represents something like the same sort of financial agreement that the club agreed with its previous sponsor Sportpesa, which is welcome as the Toffees need to ensure the maximum income from such commercial relationships.
There are I think probably several other positive consequences to this new sponsorship.
One, is the end of a betting company sponsorship. I’m not personally that bothered if the club is sponsored by such a company, or a beer brand either, but it probably doesn’t do any harm, in marketing terms, to have a presumably less controversial logo on the club’s shirts.
Cazoo, is also a British company, which makes a nice change from Everton, like most Premier League clubs, advertising big, foreign company brands.
This announcement, follows hard on the heels of the news that the Toffees have switched their shirt manufacturer from Umbro to Hummel from next season.
All these developments seem to indicate that Everton are finally getting their financial strategy right and are negotiating better deals for the club.
In a related story, the Blues have also announced that they are looking for a separate sponsor for the women’s team, to maximise the club;s overall income.
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Interestingly, the man leading Everton’s search for such a sponsor is reportedly Alisher Usmamov’s nephew, Sarvar Ismailov.
This is a potentially important development as it indicates the further growing connections between Usmanov and Everton FC.
It follows on from announcements such as the one at the club AGM at the beginning of the year.
Then the Blues announced that Usmanov had secured first dibs on naming rights for the club’s new stadium at Bramley Moore dock.
So with this are we seeing the continuing strengthening of the relationship between the wealthy Russian exile and Everton and what might the longer-term consequences of that be?