Wimbledon out to conquer booming Asian market

LONDON (Reuters) - With scooters in Mumbai and designer T-shirts in Shanghai, Wimbledon is out to conquer Asia.

"This is the fastest expanding market in the world for merchandising. Asia is booming," said Wimbledon marketing director Robert McCowen.

"Asians love brands and prefer to spend money on luxury goods rather than on their homes."

So roll out the luxury towels, jewellery and even a limited edition of 10,000 Wimbledon scooters.

China and India, with their fast-growing economies, have provided fertile ground for Wimbledon in an ambitious bid to export its distinctive brand right around the globe.

"Europe is a very mature market and it is very difficult to introduce the Wimbledon brand in depth there. Asia is a land of opportunity," McCowen said.

Thirty-four shops are now selling branded Wimbledon merchandise in 14 cities across China. Two were opened this year in Beijing, specially timed to attract a wave of new customers at the summer Olympics.

"What we are doing is establishing a presence and an image of the brand," McCowen said as Wimbledon sought to entice upwardly mobile young shoppers.

"We are told there is a growing middle class in the cities. Lots of young people live with their parents and have low expenditure," he said.

Hence all the spare cash to shell out on designer clothes as he said "The young people are really keen on lifestyle."

India is an equally alluring market for Wimbledon to set out its designer wares.

"We even had a limited edition of 10,000 scooters in India -- that was a fun thing," he said.

The fast-rising Asian players certainly help to raise the profile of tennis with China's Na Li reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2006 and India's Sania Mirza even managing to knock the cricketers off the front page.

Their heightened profile could also boost the television market for Wimbledon which is currently seen in 180 countries. "There is room for a lot more expansion in Asian TV rights," McCowen said.

And what of the tournament itself? Is Wimbledon feeling the chill winds of recession as the credit crunch really starts to bite?

Not at all, argues McCowen. "We have always tried to keep demand well above supply. We don't have a huge capacity and when the market turns down, we don't have a problem with over-capacity."

(Editing by Justin Palmer)