Football star David Beckham signed a worldwide licensing joint venture with Global Brands Group on Wednesday to create a lifestyle brand, marking the start of a celebrity-focused branding strategy at the Li & Fung consumer brands spin-off.
“This is a joint venture that will build brands and licence brands all around the world not just with David Beckham but other incredibly iconic stars,” chief executive Bruce Rockowitz said at a press conference.
Rockowitz called the David Beckham deal, which covers the entire consumer space from apparel, food, electronics to kidswear, “a game-changer in sports and entertainment”.
“Throughout my career I’ve had quite a few sponsorship deals,” Beckham said. “This takes it to a different level for me. I’ve gone from being in a sponsorship deal to being an owner.”
Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. There is no set amount the firm was willing to invest, Rockowitz said, but added the company would have no problem funding it internally.
"We don’t just want to build one brand, a sportswear brand or an underwear brand....We want to do a lot that’s very scalable and we want to deal with multiple people,” Rockowitz said.