"Already sold hundreds of coral shirts"

INTERVIEWS There has been a lot of talks going on around the new away jersey of RSC Anderlecht. Sporza contacted main sponsor Adidas to ask what the idea is behind the coral color. The sports brand also immediately announced that many hundreds of coral shirts have already been sold.


"We saw about 5, 6 years ago that Anderlecht did not have a permanent home shirt", marketing director Frank Basters, from Adidas Benelux, "Most fans may not realize that, but if you look closely at the past 20 years you see that Anderlecht played in purple one year and the other year in white, and the second outfit was the other way around. "
"It was actually very strange that a big tradition club like Anderlecht did not have a permanent home outfit, so we said that a fixed home design would be logical, so that you could still be recognized as a club and you would belong to the greats. the club has chosen, from season 2014-2015, to always play in purple at home, with white accents. And that purple color is also visible in the stadium, in communication. "

Away shirt

And that's how we end out with the shirt, and Basters admits that commercial laws play a role here: "The main goal is to appeal to a wide audience and it does not work if you do not vary enough. Young people think it's cool to wear club kits to school or when they go out. We understand that there is reaction to the non-traditional colors, but now we offer shirts for a wider audience: a shirt for the traditional Anderlecht supporter and one for the younger, modern supporter. "

"You can not argue about tastes and colors, everyone has their opinion, so yes, we understand that there is a reaction to those non-traditional colors, and the most important indicator of whether it is a success or not is sales. So far, hundreds of shirts have already been sold, and in the past there was a lot of reaction to the pink shirts, but commercially they were a success, the same with the bright yellow shirts, and the whit outfit was no success in terms of sales. So there is a need for a classic shirt and a modern shirt. "

What Anderlecht has to say

Anderlecht are certainly involved in chosing the shirts: "18 months before the shirt comes out, we sit together with an extensive delegation from the club: management, commerce, technical staff, where we present our first proposal, first on paper. In this process, various things are taken into account: it must be a fashionable color, the main sponsor must be clearly visible. Our designers and trend watchers have ideas on this and then go to work with all these different aspects. Anderlecht has an opinion about it and we do something with that, which can be quite a bit of "going back and forth"

Controversy sells

"Experience shows that the more there is talked about something, the more demand there is. That's how this world works. but it is not a purpose in itself: we do not do something to shock people, far from it. We try to do something that is within the demands of the club: what fits a club, what gives a certain look at a club. "

"What might make the club a little younger and more diverse in certain areas, which is also very attractive. All goals the club also has. And we think we have succeeded in that." Reactions will show how big and beautiful Anderlecht is. . "