Owning basketball

The market for athletic footwear may be flooded, and this is the age where more is better. But one sport-specific brand, And1, has narrowed its focus to one simple statement: to own basketball in the world.

"We just want to be the best basketball brand in the world," affirms Justin Cupps, And1’s general manager for the Asia Pacific region. "We’re already a strong second in many markets, and we are very optimistic about the opportunities here, in the biggest market in the world."

Cupps visited the Philippines over the weekend and had the rare opportunity to pick the brains of the some of the country’s brightest basketball minds. At the casual but sumptuous lunch held last Friday were PBA Commissioner Noli Eala, PBL Commissioner Chino Trinidad, The Star’s Quinito Henson, and this writer. The gathering was organized by Bob, Dickie and Tet Bachmann, the movers of Relzbach Ventures, Inc., the official distributor of And1 in the Philippines and more than half a dozen other countries.

"I usually just visit distributors for a day or two," admitted Cupps, a point guard who graduated with a Sports Management degree from the University of Pennsylvania. "And there’s never really a chance to talk to anybody of the local basketball people. I have about 10 major markets under me, and about 60 to 70 other countries that also need attention. So this is really great."

Cupps said that, in terms of percentage, the Philippines is the biggest basketball market he’s ever seen. Because of the fierce competition in other countries, no particular sport carries more than 10 percent of market share in terms of sales. In the Philippines, basketball shoes account for 80 percent of the market. And that is a good sign for And1.

And1 started 11 years ago among a small group of friends in New York City, the birthplace of playground basketball, and became known as the hardcore street players’ brand. A few years ago, they signed up Kevin Garnett and Stephon Marbury as representatives of the kind of players who represented the inner city baller who dreams of making it big, and is not afraid to get in the other player’s face. During their first television commercial shoot, to prevent the talents from getting bored, they played a tape of a young street player doing all sorts of crazy moves and tricks with the basketball. And1 took this amateur footage, collected more of it, and spliced together the very first And1 Mix Tape, which they gave away with every purchase of a pair of their sneakers. They ended up giving away over 100,000 tapes, and it became the most popular sports video in the United States. Eventually, the stars of the And1 Mix tape series became stars in ‘hoods nationwide, and soon became part of a traveling exhibition that has now grown to encompass more than 35 cities across the mainland.

"I like to look at the And1 Mix tape guys as the 21st century Harlem Globetrotters," beams Cupps. "One of them is already in the NBA, but what we’re really looking at is the impact these guys have in ordinary people who watch basketball."

And1 recently did a promotion with Australia’s National Basketball League, and their traveling entertainers all but doubled the usual NBL crowds. Now, they’re looking to bring a full team of And1 Mix Tape players to the Philippines, perhaps to coincide with a major PBA event, and blow away local crowds, as well.

And1 boasts of a great track record in the NBA, as well. They claim that about 80 of the league’s players - roughly 20% - wear their shoes, a strong second among brands in the US. This list includes half of the Detroit Pistons, including All-Star and Defensive Player of the Year Ben Wallace, and outrageous point guard Jayson Williams. Locally, And1 suits up the Alaska Aces and are negotiating with one more team. They also have loyal endorsers in Rob Duat, Mike Cortez, Rodney Santos, Vince Hizon and others, and have just signed up last year’s Rookie of the Year Jimmy Alapag. Relzbach claims that these players are not being paid to wear their shoes and apparel, but simply love the brand.

"As far as endorsements go, there are maybe five or six players who can really make a big impact on sales globally," Cupps explains. "You’ve got Allen Iverson, T-Mac, Kobe, Jordan, LeBron James and a couple of others. We don’t really want to be spending so much money that way. We’d rather look at it as seeing how many players are wearing our shoes."

This year, And1 is launching its line of training shoes, to broaden its base in appealing to the true basketball aficionado or weekend warrior, and greatly expanding its apparel line, which has drawn quite a following, more so among young people who see their ads in American sports magazines and watch their commercials on ESPN.

"The real basketball player doesn’t only play the game, he also trains for basketball," explains Bob Bachmann, who heads Relzbach Ventures. Bachmann’s father, Kurt, was a teammate of Caloy Loyzaga on Philippine teams in the 1950’s. "We’ve spent the last three years preparing our distribution system, getting the right dealers in the right places. Now, we can go full-blast into marketing and promotions."

Seeing how big the basketball market is in the Philippines, And1 will definitely have its place in the market. But the bigger challenge is if they can really manage to unseat the industry’s giants and become one themselves.