PUMA(R) Enters Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012
By Puma, PRNEWednesday, April 7, 2010
Sportlifestyle Company to Compete Again in Around-the-World Ocean Race After Placing 2nd in the Last VOR
HERZOGENAURACH, Germany and BOSTON, Massachusetts, April 8, 2010 - PUMA(R) announced today it will participate in the Volvo Ocean Race
2011-2012 after placing 2nd second overall in the 2008-2009 competition. The
race, known as the "Everest of sailing," begins in October 2011 in Alicante,
Spain and ends in Galway, Ireland in June 2012. The eight stopovers in
between include: Cape Town, Abu Dhabi, Sanya (China), Auckland, Itajai
(Brazil), Miami, Lisbon and Lorient (France). The PUMA Ocean Racing team will
once again be under the leadership of Skipper Ken Read. PUMA continues to
produce and expand their line of sailing performance gear and remains the
first Sportlifestyle company to participate in a venture of this kind. PUMA
will also be the official supplier of all Volvo Ocean Race merchandise.
"We are proud of PUMA Ocean Racing's success in the last Volvo
Ocean Race and look forward to the adventures this next race will bring,"
said Jochen Zeitz, PUMA AG Chairman and CEO. "Both the team and the company
hope to leverage the key lessons from the last VOR campaign in order to
continue spreading the good will of the program and PUMA worldwide. The Volvo
Ocean Race is one of the world's iconic sporting events. It proved to be an
extremely successful marketing tool for us and an important launch pad for
the sailing product category. We look forward to building the sailing
category even more throughout the next race, as well as expanding into other
forms of outdoor lifestyle ventures."
For the 2011-2012 race, PUMA Ocean Racing has proudly partnered with BERG
Propulsion, one of the world's leading designers and producers of
Controllable Pitch Propellers for commercial shipping. BERG Propulsion
products are designed and engineered with the reduction of adverse
environmental impact in mind, striving to bring fuel savings and
environmental benefits to every product. This commitment to sustainability
and strive for high performance makes them a perfect partner for PUMA. The
team will be known as PUMA Ocean Racing, powered by BERG Propulsion.
"This is a key addition to our campaign," stated Antonio Bertone, Chief
Marketing Officer, PUMA AG. "BERG CEO Hakan Svensson and his entire company
are a perfect fit with our operation. As a life-long competitive sailor
himself, Hakan understands the sport, the race and how BERG can utilize the
race to help build and market their global company."
Hakan Svensson, Berg Propulsion Chairman and CEO stated "Our company is
very excited to be a part of the VOR this year and we are especially proud to
have the opportunity to partner with PUMA. We view the race as a perfect
symbol for what Berg Propulsion represents: global perspective and reach, an
emphasis on quality, reliability and a desire for excellence achieved through
a strong TEAM spirit. Very much like the shipping industry, the Volvo Ocean
Race is about performance on a global arena and this is directly applicable
to our customer's situation, who are also out there 24/7 under very tough
conditions. We will do our absolute best to support Ken Read and his talented
crew in their efforts to be the fastest around the world."
Team selection efforts are already underway and will likely include a
number of sailors from PUMA's 2008-2009 team, plus a mix of new and veteran
talent from the professional racing world. Training will begin onboard PUMA's
il mostro in Spring 2010 at the team's homebase in Newport, Rhode Island.
Skipper Ken Read, considered to be one of the world's most accomplished
racers, was in charge of PUMA Ocean Racing and at the helm of PUMA's il
mostro throughout the entire Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009. The U.S.-born Read
has twice helmed America's Cup programs in 2000 and 2003 and was named
"United States Rolex Yachtsman of the Year" twice and has 46 World, North
American and National Championships to his credit.
"This last race was an amazing journey for me personally and
for our start-up company PUMA Ocean Racing," said Ken Read. "To have the
opportunity to continue where we left off is a dream come true. For PUMA to
want to come back to this adventure is a testament to the event itself and to
the entire PUMA Ocean Racing team past and present. We look forward to the
challenges that lie ahead both organizationally as well as competitively."
PUMA is committed to working across the globe in sustainable, creative
and innovative ways to lessen the impact on the environment and to give back
what it takes from the planet by seeking to reduce its carbon footprint in
all areas of business. The sportlifestyle brand's entry into the Volvo Ocean
Race is compatible with this mission, as sailing is considered a 'clean
sport', using only the wind to harness the power needed to race across the
world over the course of nine months.
The entry into competitive sailing extends PUMA's focus into premium
lifestyle sports - a category PUMA has forged through its Formula 1
partnerships and other Motorsports collaborations such as Ducati and Ferrari,
and the launch of a sportlifestyle Golf collection in 2006.
Editor Note: For rights-free images, video and press materials from
PUMA's 2008-2009 VOR entry, please visit: media.pumaoceanracing.com
PUMA
PUMA is one of the world's leading sportlifestyle companies
that designs and develops footwear, apparel and accessories. It is committed
to working in ways that contribute to the world by supporting Creativity,
SAFE Sustainability and Peace, and by staying true to the principles of being
Fair, Honest, Positive and Creative in decisions made and actions taken. PUMA
starts in Sport and ends in Fashion. Its Sport Performance and Lifestyle
labels include categories such as Football, Running, Motorsports, Golf and
Sailing. Sport Fashion features collaborations with renowned designer labels
such as Alexander McQueen, Mihara Yasuhiro and Sergio Rossi. The PUMA Group
owns the brands PUMA and Tretorn. The company, which was founded in 1948,
distributes its products in more than 120 countries, employs more than 9,000
people worldwide and has headquarters in Herzogenaurach/Germany, Boston,
London and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit www.puma.com
BERG PROPULSION
Berg Propulsion is one of the world's leading designers and producers of
Controllable Pitch Propellers. Our strength lies in exceptional functional
and technical expertise coupled with extensive industry knowledge. We deliver
fully customized main propellers, azimuth thrusters, transverse thrusters and
maneuver systems. Our operation is global - we provide our customers with
speedy and effective service within 24 hours. For more information visit
www.bergpropulsion.com.
Volvo Ocean Race
The Volvo Ocean Race began in 1973 as the "Whitbread Round the World
Race". It is a high-endurance, physically-challenging race in the world's
fastest monohull, where men and women compete at the top of their game,
sailing continent to continent, in an easterly direction around the globe.
The race takes approximately nine months to complete, covers 39,000 nautical
miles in challenging and often dangerous waters, and is broken into 11
separate legs. The 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race will start in the autumn in
Alicante, Spain and the route will go to Cape Town, Abu Dhabi, Sanya (China),
Auckland and on to Itajai (Brazil). Next stop is Miami and then across the
Atlantic to Lisbon followed by Lorient in France. The race will finish in
Galway, Ireland.
Media Contact:
Sara Gottman, International Public Relations, PUMA, +617-488-2914,
sara.gottman@puma.com
Christian Lindquist, Marketing Communications Director, BERG Propulsion,
Direct: +46-31-30-10-893, E-mail: press@bergpropulsion.com
Media Contact: Sara Gottman, International Public Relations, PUMA, +617-488-2914,
sara.gottman at puma.com; Christian Lindquist, Marketing Communications Director, BERG Propulsion, Direct: +46-31-30-10-893, E-mail: press at bergpropulsion.com
Tags: April 8, Germany, Germany And Boston, Herzogenaurach, Massachusetts, PUMA, United States of America