Field Report
The Babolat bloodline
Babolat’s advertising tagline reads: “Tennis Runs In Our Blood”. It is a straightforward and strong message that Franck Debeauvais, Babolat’s sales and marketing director, has the task of instilling in the UK. He spoke to Ben Hunt
Rafael Nadal has helped establish Babolat on a global scale
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abolat started out in 1875 when Pierre Babolat created the first tennis strings made from natural gut. Since then a lot has changed although the company is still owned by the Babolat family, and it is now the third largest tennis brand in the world.
Babolat prides itself on being at the forefront
of technology, which accounts for why 25% of the top 100 players on the ATP and WTA tours use its rackets. The success of Babolat players such as world number three Rafael Nadal, and Andy Roddick, has spurred growth, especially in the UK, where Babolat has been the fastest growing tennis brand of the decade. Franck Debeauvais claims the brand enjoys a healthy position as the number one choice for performance rackets. That said, it still holds third place in the overall UK market, and it falls upon Debeauvais to improve that standing without diminishing the brand’s exclusivity. “In terms of potential, the UK is as big as the
French market,” Debeauvais tells Sporting Goods Business. “The UK is one of the top 10 countries in terms of the tennis market, but the average price of the rackets is half here than it is in France. “Here, most people go to play in the parks and
hit balls during the summer period, whereas in France there are much more people involved on a weekly basis, and ready to spend more on tennis products as it is their main sport. “However, tennis is becoming more
popular here, especially with Andy Murray’s success, and with new key events such as the World
“We don’t expect to be number one in the UK
Smashing value: Babolat’s AeroPro Drive, as played by Rafael Nadal and Caroline Wozniacki among others
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SGB SPORT MAY 2010
within five years because we have to get the right distribution network without damaging the brand,” he says. “I want to try and keep the image young and technical while also keeping it linked with tradition. I want for stores that sell
“
Babolat has been
achieving a growth of about 15-20% in the UK over the last five years.
However, it is more about maintaining the products’ quality than increasing the market share
Tour final, so more young people will play the sport and then purchasing decisions will become more about the quality of the racket.”
”
Quality over quantity
Debeauvais has drawn up a targeted
distribution network that will help him open up the UK’s market. However, he is also being cautious with his plans for steady growth.
Talent spotting
Another weapon in the company’s arsenal is the acquisition of two of the brightest talents in the game in Spain’s Nadal and American Roddick. For Babolat it is about continuing that heritage and, like family bloodlines, the company is investing in its future by focusing on young talented tennis players. Debeauvais adds: “We had success in 1998 when Carlos Moya won the French Open for our first Grand Slam victory. Since then we have had Andy Roddick and Kim Clijsters use our rackets and more recently
Rafa Nadal. They are really great people and they are always happy to do adverts and promotional work. Andy is a really good actor and he enjoys it. “The key now is the juniors. We need to find the talented players when they are 11 and 12 and nurture them so when they are 18, 19 and 20 and ready to join the pro tour, they will have been using our products for a number of years.”
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www.babolat.com
our equipment to know about it and to make the products look appealing on the shelf. “Of course we want to grow and we will do
that, but we also want to retain some of our exclusivity. So we will work with specialty stores and specific groups like Intersport and John Lewis. “Babolat has been achieving a yearly growth of about 15-20% in the UK over the last five years. However, it is more about maintaining the products’ quality than increasing the market share. Babolat cannot afford to damage the brand because we only focus on tennis. That is what we live for and we want to protect it. “Yes, we want to grow. We want Babolat to be the number one brand worldwide and we are closing in on that target, but not at the detriment of its quality.”
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