Contract Renegotiated - Umbro Returns as Santos Kit Supplier in 2018
Update: More details of the Santos Umbro deal have emerged. The English sportswear manufacturer will supply sports equipment to the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A outfit until 2020, beginning on 1st March 2018.
The original agreement would have seen Umbro pay R$7.5 million (US$2.3 million) per year, which was questioned by the new Santos board since rivals Grêmio receive R$17 million (US$5.2 million) per year for a similar deal with Umbro. Following renegotiations, Umbro agreed a new deal with Santos which sees the manufacturer increase the royalty amounts paid by around 50 per cent, according to Brazilian media reports.
Brazilian journal Portal Lance reports that Umbro will become Santos' kit supplier from March 2018, replacing Kappa. Santos had been responsible for the production of their own uniform since two years, with a bit help of Kappa.
It is not the first time that Umbro will make Santos' kits. In fact, Santos and Umbro had a partnership that lasted for 14 years, from 1997 until 2011. In that year, Nike took over Santos' contract (Nike owned Umbro until 2012 when they sold the brand to the Iconix Brand Group).
Santos to Sign Umbro Kit Deal
Santos' kit deal with Umbro is set to be valid from March 1 2018.
The new Kappa Santos kit contract is valid from March 1 2018 as the agreement with Kappa, who are responsible for producing the uniform, closes on February 28.
The current business model - in which the club is responsible for confection, distribution and the entire marketing process - is profitable. With the new Umbro deal, Santos will have more profit as there is a minimum guarantee paid by the company.
In 2016, the club raised just over R $ 3 million selling shirts (~ 800,000 Euro), not counting licensed producers. In total, Umbro will pay about R $ 7.5 million annually to Santos (~ 2 million Euro), in addition to being responsible for manufacturing and distribution to stores and the club itself. The contract is reported to be valid for two years until 2020.
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