The Club has always sought to retain the unique image and character of The Championships and has successfully achieved over many years by development a range of long-term mutually beneficial Official Supplier agreements with a range of blue-chip brands, as well as specifically not commercializing the grounds overtly.
The income from the Official Suppliers is an important part of The Championships’ surplus which goes back into the development of the British game through the Lawn Tennis Association.
Official Suppliers, of which there are 15 for the 2008 Championships (see below), provide goods and services, which are both essential for the staging of The Championships, and which meet the Club’s objective of improving the quality of the service provided to the players, spectators, the media and the staff involved in organizing and running the event. Thus:
Rolex appears on the Centre and No.1 Court scoreboards as Official Timekeeper and in 2008 will again be associated with Hawk-Eye on screen on Centre and No.1 Courts.
Hertz provides transport for the players.
IBM has been the Club’s IT consultants since 1990, building and powering the Wimbledon website to become one of the largest sports websites in the world. IBM also provides the service speed displays on court, statistics for the media and screen graphics for broadcasters and the interface for the new Wimbledon Live broadband service integrated into www.wimbledon.org
Philips provides TV sets for the media and the hugely popular large TV screen by No.1 Court
Official Suppliers have the right to use the Club’s crossed rackets logo and to highlight their Wimbledon association through advertising and promotions in key markets around the world.
In recent years, companies in the consumer field have become Official Suppliers with the aim of using The Championships to showcase their products for the benefit of players and public alike. For example:
Robinsons has been associated with The Championships since 1934, Lanson is the Official Champagne. Blossom Hill, a Diageo brand, supplies the wine, and leading consumer brands such as Nescafé, Häagen-Dazs and Garnier Ambre Solaire all have a key presence at The Championships.
Polo Ralph Lauren is the Official Outfitter of Wimbledon. Polo Ralph Lauren is the first designer in Wimbledon’s 129-year history to create and outfit all on-court officials including chair umpires and ball persons and in 2008 opens a Shop-in-Shop in the new Centre Court 4,300 sq ft Wimbledon Shop.
In 2008 the Club has signed agreements with:
Evian – the No 1 brand of bottled water both in the UK and worldwide, becomes the Official Bottled Water in2008 as part of a long term contract providing bottled water to the players, court officials, ball boys and girls, as well as offering a range of their products for sale in all catering areas at Wimbledon.
HSBC – becomes the Official Banking Partner of The Championships, providing banking facilities at the HSBC Bank on site by the Museum Building. HSBC has also agreed to donate to charity a sum equal to the total amount generated via the HSBC branded red ticket resale boxes, in 2007 the amount donated to charity was in excess of £85,000. In addition, HSBC will be working with the All England Club to expand the Road to Wimbledon junior event, henceforth to be known as The HSBC Road to Wimbledon National 14 and Under Challenge.
List of Official Suppliers for the 2008 Championships and year of association
