Global brand maybe, but where's the return?
England's top premier league clubs may be global brands, but they struggle to translate that in to cash, says Dougal Paver.
Much is made in the febrile world of premiership bragging rights about who's got the biggest brand.
It's the ultimate willy-waving contest but as we know, it's not the size that counts, but what you do with it that ma.tters And that's where all our premier league clubs fall short.
Cocal Cola is a global brand: turnover $30bn. Apple racks up a mind-boggling $80bn. Google, meanwhile, pulls in a cool $25bn.
Manchester United, by comparison, are mere start-ups with around £300m of turnover and net debt of about £750m. Liverpool's debt was wiped out in the glare of the world's media last week but its turnover hovers a little over £200m. Let's not even get on to my beloved Everton.
The challenge for club marketeers, therefore, is an obvious one. If they really do have a global fan base then how do they translate that in to revenue?
If Man Utd's boasted legion of far east supporters really exist then surely the internet - with its ability to deliver merchandising platforms in to local markets and languages quickly and efficiently - would be delivering substantially more revenues than it does?
Perhaps, then, they're not real fans, but just people with some sort of affinity to the club - based, I suspect, on its success. That would make them a harder nut to crack altogether. Clubs talking about earning more 'share of wallet' is all well and good, but when the contents of said wallet amount to $50 a week after tax, then it's unlikely that any club is going to get priority over feeding, housing and clothing the family.
Wearing fake shirts in droves is one thing but spending precious hard-earned on branded duvet covers, pencil cases and lamp shades is quite another.
Global brands they may be in awareness terms but I suspect it'll be a long, long time before England's premier league clubs come within even shouting distance of the true heirs to that title.
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