Kempa is the new equipment supplier for Rouen Metropole Basketball
Balingen, 08th September. Rouen Metropole Basket and Kempa are delighted to announce the signing of a long term partnership agreement. The German brand becomes the club’s official equipment supplier.
Kempa will exclusively develop match, training and away kit for all the club’s teams, as well as several ranges of products for Rouen fans.
Although the name Kempa is not yet widely known in the world of basketball, the brand belongs to the uhlsport group, which has been the official distributor and textile manufacturer of the American basketball brand Spalding on a licensed basis for almost 18 years in Europe.
Since 2021, the group’s overall strategy has been to focus entirely on its own brands and to develop all indoor sports with the Kempa brand.
“We are delighted with this new partnership with Rouen Métropole Basketball, which has a strong and historic place in French basketball. With undeniable technical expertise (over 18 years manufacturing and distributing Spalding products in Europe), this partnership is an important step for Kempa, a brand that wants to establish a long-term presence in basketball”, says Julie Massé, Head of Marketing and Sponsorship France.
Philippe Michel, Head of Sales France: “The start of a wonderful basketball adventure between Rouen Metropole Basket and Kempa. The brand has decided to open up its field of action by focusing on multisports and in particular on basketball, a major sport in France and Europe. Kempa is a young, dynamic and innovative brand whose DNA fits in well with the Rouen Métropole club.”
About the uhlsport group and the kempa brand
The uhlsport group is a human-sized company with headquarters in Balingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company was founded in 1948 as a specialist in leather studs and then refocused on equipment for football in general and various team sports. The company also owns the Kempa brand, which was originally designed for handball but is now developed to cover indoor team sports (basketball/volleyball, etc.).
uhlsport has been operating in France for over 25 years, generating sales of €14 million through a network of 1,600 sales outlets and a team of 14 people. It is a major player in the team sports market with two brands: uhlsport (Sport-co Outdoor) and Kempa (Sport-co Indoor).
The vision of Rouen Métropole Basket
Rouen Métropole Basket is delighted to be helping the Kempa brand open the doors to professional basketball. We sincerely believe that Kempa will be an ideal partner to help the club build ambitious new projects. The expertise of the uhlsport group and its history with the Spalding brand, which specialises in basketball, will be important elements in the success of this partnership. Rouen Métropole Basket has always worked with young and innovative brands, qualities that the Kempa brand represents. This partnership goes beyond a simple exchange; it is an alliance of shared values and objectives. We firmly believe that this partnership will strengthen our position on the pitch while providing our players and fans with cutting-edge equipment to face the challenges ahead.
We look forward to seeing Kempa’s colours on our new shirts and to celebrating great successes together in the future.
Yvan Gueuder, President of Rouen Métropole Basket about the partnership: “Meeting Kempa is above all a human and sincere encounter. We met passionate people who wanted to create a real exchange. The speech and the presentation of the range made us want to work with the brand. We are delighted to be the first professional basketball club to wear the Kempa brand on its shirts, which is a real recognition of the work the club has been doing for many years.”
This long-term partnership, which will commit us to each other until the end of the 2028-2029 season, began a few weeks ago with the creation of the new Rouen Métropole Basket jerseys for the 2023-2024 edition, which we can’t wait to show you.
