Bayern opens China office in Shanghai
Print Edition
BAYERN Munich opened a China office in Shanghai yesterday as it eyes commercial and media deals amid a growing fan base for Bundesliga football.
“We are glad to open an office in Shanghai after the one in the US,” Bayern’s Chief Executive Officer Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told reporters yesterday. “We expect to enhance our communication with fans, clubs, associations and other organizations. Every China tour of Bayern Munich has been extremely successful. We could feel that the club has a great reputation in China.”
The Bundesliga powerhouse is following its European rivals Manchester United and Barcelona into Asia. Both United and Barcelona have opened offices in China’s Hong Kong. Bayern’s office in Shanghai is located at the German Center at Zhangjiang High-Tech Park in Pudong. It will serve as the operational base on the club’s tour of Asia as well as for its academy operations.
Bayern will play Arsenal in Shanghai on July 19 and AC Milan in Shenzhen on July 22 during the 2017 International Champions Cup China tournament. It will then head to Singapore and play matches against Chelsea and Inter Milan on July 25 and July 27 respectively.
“We have over 136 million followers in China,” said Jorg Wacker, Executive Board Member Internationalization and Strategy of Bayern Munich. “From now on, we want more direct talks with our fans. We will bring suitable solutions to China’s football market, especially youth football. More tailor-made activities for Chinese fans will be organized to make the club’s image more vivid.”
Rouven Kasper, managing director of Bayern Munich (Shanghai) Co, said there was huge opportunities in China’s e-commerce market as well. “We would like to sell products tailor-made for China,” he said.
Bayern runs a soccer school in Qingdao, Shandong Province. It plans to open a second school later this year.
Another Bundesliga team Wolfsburg also opened an office in Beijing’s prestigious 798 art district. Club general manager Thomas Roettgermann told AFP it was a “long-term project” for the club.
“At the end of the day, it’s such a huge market that every club which is interested in playing internationally should be in China in order to bring these billions of people on their side and also to earn some money there,” Roettgermann said.
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