Press Release: Mark Allen Online & Kiwami

Triathlon Forum
1

Full disclosure, Kiwami is a sponsor of mine. I have no affiliation with MAO. As I’ve said before, Slowtwitch doesn’t do the whole “press release” thingy as news. But I think it’s appropriate for the forum, where if there’s interest, people can ask questions, and if there isn’t, it falls of the front page and into never-neverland. I’m very excited for the folks at KiWAMi. They make excellent products (good for you & me) and are wonderfully supportive of their athletes (mostly good for just me). Anyhoo, I just got this news from them, and they are obviously pretty excited. It’s nice to see that they are growing despite the economy; KiWAMi stuff is not the cheapest stuff out there, but it is among the nicest, and it’s nice to see that quality still counts.

Kiwami has been selected by MarkAllenOnline as their official racewear provider for 2009. Kiwami will provide technically advanced clothing for the MarkAllenOnline Elite Age Group Team consisting of 40 of the top amateur triathletes in the United States. Allen commented, “We are very excited to be working with Kiwami this year. Their technical pieces are top of the line, and this is a perfect match for the level of performance we are predicting from our Team this season. The top elites wearing the top gear from Kiwami. What more could we ask for!”

MarkAllenOnline was founded by Mark Allen, the 6-Time Hawaiian Ironman World champion, and Luis Vargas 5-time Ironman finisher. Since 2001 it has provided athletes in over 50 countries with customized triathlon training programs designed specifically for each person.

Working with some of the most demanding standards conceivable, Kiwami is provider to some of the most prominent names in the sport, including Matt Reed, Greg and Laura Bennett, Jordan Rapp, and others. It was founded in 2003 by professional triathletes Craig and Helene Watson “to produce first-class triathlon race-wear that is specifically designed and tailored to enhance the performance of the competitor.”

KiwamiUSA Manager Andre Bennatan is proud to welcome MarkAllenOnline to a growing list of cutting edge hungry triathletes looking for the very best in racewear. For more information on Kiwami, go to: www.kiwamitri.com or contact@kiwamitri.com

2

I never really understood the MAO sponsorship deals. I was an MAO athlete for a year and I got a lot of those emails about their big sponsorship things, but it seemed like it only ever equated to a minor discount for MAO athletes (like, 5-10% off).

Has that changed? Or is that kind of the going rate for sponsorship deals in the triathlon industry?

Of course, my whole perspective could be way off. I’m just curious about how these team sponsorship deals usually work.

3

I never really understood the MAO sponsorship deals. I was an MAO athlete for a year and I got a lot of those emails about their big sponsorship things, but it seemed like it only ever equated to a minor discount for MAO athletes (like, 5-10% off).

Has that changed? Or is that kind of the going rate for sponsorship deals in the triathlon industry?

Of course, my whole perspective could be way off. I’m just curious about how these team sponsorship deals usually work.
I don’t know the details of the arrangement. Then again, 5-10% off is a pretty good deal. At least, I think it is.

4

I suppose I’m seeing it as a much, much bigger benefit for the company than the team (aka loose collection of athletes). Assuming typical profit margins, a 5 to 10% discount seems like a drop in the bucket compared to some of the heavy discounting going on these days (thanks, economy!).

Also, just to be clear, I’m not speaking about Kiwami, who I know produces high quality apparel – your announcement simply reminded me of some questions I’ve had about the sponsorship business.