Marketing – How Wilson sees the future without Roger Federer?

A legend is built. A legend, it is told. Regarding Roger Federer, the legend, in the sense of history, would like it to be his mother, Lynette, who bought him a Wilson model for his 10th birthday. A legend deconstructed by the Swiss many years later: if he had chosen the American giant, it was mainly to look like his idols.

40% of the pro circuit at Wilson

Figures that do not say everything about a profitable strategy in terms of sales to the general public to listen to Bertrand Blanc. “It’s always important to have visibility in the Top 10 or Top 20he admits, before qualifying. But, if we look at the last 20 years, I am of the opinion that there have only been two players who have sold racquets: Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. These are two exceptions because they are two stars, their careers and their status as icons pulled the market. Conversely, even if the presence on the professional circuit is part of our strategy, it is not necessarily a guarantee of success. Today, the Clash is one of the best-selling models in the world and it is a racquet absent from the professional circuit. You have to know how to find the right balance between the models that must be on the professional circuit and those that are not intended to be there.“

Still, identification with a champion remains a powerful commercial vector. In this sense, the combined emergence of Carlos Alcaraz (Babolat), Jannik Sinner (Head) and Holger Rune (Babolat) would have cause for concern for the American firm, which can only count, as it stands, on Stefanos Tsitsipas as a credible candidate. in a big way. It is with philosophy that Wilson sees the potential damage.

“Not having attracted them is not a regretbelieves Bertrand Blanc. They are three exceptional players, but luck would have it that way. We will have players who will come and shake up this trio, it is still a very fragile hierarchy. We think it will be subject to change. We have a group of promising juniors, they will be at the forefront in the years to come. We will be slightly less visible without Roger and Serena but it’s temporary. All brands go through this type of phase“.

Especially since Wilson has the latitude to take the shock. “Wilson belongs to the Amer Sports group (Atomic, Arc’teryx, Peak Peformance, Salomon) and it is a multi-sports brand, present in basketball in particularrelativizes Alexandre Bailleul. It is not unisport so in terms of strategy, it helps to reduce any air pockets related to tennis by looking at the global“.

Nostalgia still has a bright future ahead of it

The future, then, is what excites Wilson. Because basically, discovering the future big talent of tomorrow is akin to the quest for a lifetime for the firm’s scouts. “We dominate the 14-16 age categoryadds Bertrand Blanc. Selecting players upstream is a difficult exercise because recruiting young players requires going wide. We don’t know at 8, 10 or 12 who will really break through. Among the juniors, our base must be large enough to guarantee good visibility when these players are old enough to hatch on the main circuit. It’s always a bet and it’s actually quite rare to know so soon if they will break through, the counter-example being Richard Gasquet, who we knew at 9 that he would be a professional.“.

So, in this nugget market, Wilson plays the card of the serene leader of his strength. “Of course, there is a financial elementwho comes into play when young people signhe continues. But what makes Wilson strong in the eyes of players and those around them is our quality of service. We have a recognized team of experts, certainly the best on the market, in terms of preparing equipment, support on the circuit and technical advice, whether for rackets or strings.“. This long-term follow-up which has long enchanted Federer during his career, delighted to find interlocutors in the four corners of the world and attentive ears during the strategic turning points of his career, with changes of racket as precious as decisive.

Finally, talking about Federer in the past tense is almost a business mistake. “The fact that Federer sells will lastpredicts Alexandre Bailleul. I’m not saying for fifty years because few people, at that time, will have seen him play. But in the next twenty years, if they manage to maintain its image, there is no reason. The example that I often take is Stan Smith, a former great tennis player. Today, even people who know the sport, few can tell you that he played tennis“.

Like Stan Smith, the icon Federer goes beyond the framework of tennis… to the point of inviting himself into padel? “They already have a collection of padel madness, but if tomorrow there is a Roger Federer racket in padel…“, he salivates in advance. Proof that nostalgia has a bright future ahead of it.