Manchester United reported its retail, merchandising apparel and product licensing revenue, which is managed by Nike, declined 4.4 percent to £9.1 million in the second fiscal quarter ended Dec. 31, 2013.
For the year to date, revenue was £19.8 million, an increase of £0.9 million, or 4.8 percent. The British football (soccer) club reported that its total Commercial revenues rose 18.8 percent to £42.3 million during the quarter due to a 39.4 percent increase in sponsorship revenue. That surge more than offset the decline in MAPL revenues and a 20.7 percent decline in revenues from New Media and Mobile. Commercial revenues for the six months ended Dec. 31 are running 30.0 percent ahead of the comparable period a year ago.
Under its current licensing agreement, Nike is required to pay the club a minimum of £303 million over 13 years, plus half of annual profits from the club's merchandising and licensing operations, which includes sales of the teams jerseys. As part of the deal, Nike provides the team’s soccer kits and runs its stores in England, Singapore, Macau, Thailand and India.
With Nike’s agreement set to expire at the end of the 2014-15 season, Manchester United has asked Adidas, Warrior and Puma to bid on the contract, according to British media reports. Those reports speculate that club management, which is controlled by the Glazer family of the United States, is pushing for a deal that would pay it $1 billion over 10 years. Manchester United is widely considered to be one of the world’s most valuable professional football (soccer) clubs.
