The Ascent of OWU Sportswear

BY OHI ESEZOBOR

3SC coaches: Tunde Odubola & Hakeem Busari in OWU Leisure wear

3SC fan elebrating a goal in OWU Sportwear replica

It started like a dream, but three years after its first contract with a top-level professional club, the famous Shooting Stars, OWU Sportswear is already the leading sportswear brand in the Nigeria Premier League.

3SC legend, Mutiu Adegoke and Thomas Adesina celebrating a goal in OWU's design for the 2011/2012 season

The OWU brand has now become the preferred sportswear brand amongst professional football clubs in a market that is fast evolving with abundant opportunities.

Founded by Lagos based Lawyer, Tunji Brown, who believes that football teams and their fans should be properly dressed in the traditional colours like foreign clubs.

The idea for OWU came from within.

Brown noticed that Nigerian clubs were poorly dressed and their supporters barely wore replica jerseys to matches.

In fact, replicas never existed until Enyimba was signed by Spanish sportswear brand, Joma. However, OWU had the dream to produce jerseys locally and this became a reality.

The brand became the first to produce jerseys and replicas locally.

Against all rational advice, he decided to launch his sports label to make professional footballers and their fans look trendy.

Interestingly, there was no competition locally as clubs simply buy jerseys abroad without any relationship with the owners.

Thanks to his strong conviction, the situation has experienced positive changes.

“The vision started in September of 2005 and we started kitting our first premier league team by 2010”, Brown said to ojeksaikhoje.blogspot.com

Today, OWU vibrant designs have become a regular feature on Nigerian pitches and the brand now supplies the uniforms for three of the top 20 teams in Nigeria’s top flight and Founder Brown toldojeksaikhoje.blogspot.com that “it’s challenging, but we're ready to maximize the opportunities. Nigeria is a big market”.

Brand Positioning/Growth

To move the brand to the next level, Brown contacted celebrated Sports PR guru cum Brands Consultant, Ojeikere Aikhoje, who has since become a strategist for the brand.

Aikhoje relishes the opportunity to raise the profile of the brand.

“It’s an exciting brief and that has made the team more creative,” Aikhoje stated.

Will the OWU brand ever grow to challenge the likes of such giants as Germany's Adidas or the American superbrand Nike (NIKE)?

Maybe not, but no one who follows the notoriously faddish sportswear industry doubts the company has running room. "It will certainly become a top niche brand in Nigeria and build OWU into Nigeria’s largest-selling domestic sportswear brand," says Aikhoje.

“We already have plans to venture into neighbouring Benin Republic”, Aikhoje added.

Without the massive capital and worldwide production resources that the older brands possess, Brown has used the OWU allure to grow his first love.

One day the Lagos based entrepreneur hopes to equip one of Nigeria’s national team.

"Life is full of opportunities. You never can tell. The English and Danish teams use national brands, so why not Nigeria?

“We have a vision to kit our 1st national team in 2016," he told ojeksaikhoje.blogspot.com.

The brand has continued to receive endorsement from the industry.

Club legend, Joseph Ladipo, who endorsed the move to get the brand when he was chairman of the Ibadan side in 2010 said: “This is the first time I will see this kind of development since I have been with the club for more than 30 years.

“This should have been done last season (2009) but due to some logistic reasons, God has destined it to happen now.”

ABS General Manager, Alloy Chukwuemeka and 3SC forward, David Ogaga confirmed the quality of the brand.

“ABS is happy to have a brand like OWU. The duo are creative brands, which explains our success at the LBA,” Chukwuemeka said to ojeksaikhoje.blogspot.com

“Having played for Kano Pillars and Jigawa Stars, I must commend the brand. The jerseys are good and I'm always comfortable during matches.

“People call me to say they like our jerseys on TV," Ogaga told ojeksaikhoje.blogspot.com

Although Nigeria remains a football crazy nation, Brown understands that branching out into sports other than soccer will help the brand.

Since its foundation, OWU has built up a fan base in the football community and created several jobs for Nigerians.

Leisurewear:

OWU’s is also making waves with its Leisurewear.

The brand provides 3SC with leisurewear and the technical bench led by Hakeem Busari is always dressed in it.

Beyond the match day activities, OWU has positioned its“sports-inspired” leisurewear collection, designed for young, smart and sporty consumers, who want to wear it off the field.

"The bench of 3SC usually appear in our leisure wear," Brown said.

CSR:

The OWU brand understands that the importance of communities where football clubs operate cannot be overemphasized and so intends to partner 3SC, ABS and Lobi Stars to grow and reach out extensively.

OWU Sportswear Timeline:

2005: OWU Sportswear founded in Lagos.

2009: Narrowly missed signing its first league deal

2010: Signed first sportswear deal with the famous Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) formerly called IICC Shooting Stars.

2011: Second year of three-year deal with 3SC (Delivered innovative designs to 3SC)

2012: Third year of three-year deal with 3SC. (Delivered innovative designs to 3SC)

2012: Signed Nigeria Premier League side, ABS FC

2012: Signed Nigeria Premier League side, Lobi Stars (The team’s campaign in Africa in 2013 takes the brand outside Nigeria for the first time)

2012: OWU Sportswear wins Best Designed Jersey category in League Bloggers Awards

2012: (CSR) Partnered Friends of Africa by providing jerseys for Novelty match between Nollywood/Music Stars & Former Super Eagles stars (Legends like JJ Okocha, Celestine Babayaro used the jersey for the match)

2013: Unveils CSR projects with 3 NPL clubs

2013: Contracts sports publicist, Ojeikere Aikhoje, to manage its PR briefs

OWU’s NPL Technical Partners:

• Shooting Stars Sports Club: Ibadan (Oyo State)

First Nigerian Team to win a continental title in 1976

• ABS FC: Ilorin     (Kwara State)

The only private club in the Nigeria Premier League

• Lobi Stars FC: Makurdi (Benue State)

2013 Caf Confederations Cup campaigners

 

About ojeksaikhoje.blogspot.com

Founded by Ojeikere Aikhoje, an astute Integrated Marketing Communications professional, ojeksaikhoje.blogspot.com has since been recognised as the leading network and resource for brands in the business of sports in Nigeria.

ojeksaikhoje.blogspot.com is renowned for delivering in-depth editorial content of the highest quality news relating to Sports Marketing, Events, Deals, Sponsorships, PR, Media & Endorsements within the sports industry.

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