Welcome to the June issue of Professional Electricians Wholesaler.

If it hasn’t passed you by you will be aware we have a whole summer of major sports events ahead of us, with the Euro 2024 football championships in Germany, the Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Paris and not forgetting our old friend Wimbledon.

The England football team will be decked out in their latest
strip which will cost parents a small fortune to keep their children
happy with (until we inevitably lose on penalties in the semi-final).
Replica team jerseys, and sportswear in general has of course become huge business for sports brands. If you go back a few decades the unveiling of a new sports kit would have attracted very little fanfare. Now, however, it’s a multi-million pound industry, with carefully crafted promotional campaigns using phrases like ‘increased breathability’. According to the official England Store website, the latest strip ‘disrupts convention with a modern take on a classic, designed for that game-changing moment in the 90th minute or beyond’….nope, me neither.

My disingenuous tone so far is a bit unfair. As a sportsperson myself I fully appreciate the need for comfortable clothing appropriate for the occasion. The name Yvon Petra might not mean anything to many of you but not only was he was the last Frenchman to win the Wimbledon men’s singles title, he was also the last man to wear long trousers in a Wimbledon final. It is quite unthinkable to imagine the likes of Djokovic and Alcaraz playing a five-set classic in that sort of attire this year.

Purpose designed clothing is not restricted to sports and leisure, it is important for tradespeople to feel comfortable on site as well, whether it’s three below zero or hotter than the Sahara. Workwear has become big business, with some well known workwear brands now being stocked in high street sport shops. The major sports brands pay millions to superstars to wear their products as brand ambassadors. Two recent films underline just how competitive the world of brand endorsement is. In ‘King Richard’ a teenage Venus Williams is offered a sponsorship deal with Nike worth 3 million dollars, and in ‘Air’ executives from Nike compete for the signature of a then-relatively unknown Michael Jordan against Adidas and Converse.

It got me wondering, how far away are we from seeing tradespeople being sponsored by tools and workwear companies to promote their gear? Well, the idea is not that far fetched. At some product launches I have attended recently the trade press have been outnumbered by tradespeople turned ‘influencers’, who have built up huge social media followings. It therefore makes complete sense for companies to reach their target audience through these channels.

I have tried to think of some brands that might be willing to sponsor an editor of a trade magazine but have so far drawn a blank. Suggestions please!

– Tracey Rushton-Thorpe

For previous articles, click here