Japanese firm Toyo Tires on being a Leicester City sponsor this season
Japan-based Toyo Tire and Rubber Co said it was proud to support Leicester City after it clinched the Premier League title, saying “everyone knows about Leicester now”.
Speaking to The Drum, Toyo Tire and Rubber Co’s spokesman Masahiro Furuishi, said a key factor in continuing investment was to raise the profile of the business in the UK.
“We expect that this cooperation can help us raise brand awareness in the UK. We enjoyed our commercial presence at King Power Stadium as well as the appearance of our branding on their first team training gear during our partnership for 14/15 season. As for 15/16 season, we are more than proud to continue to see our branding presence at one of the biggest stages in sport – the Barclays Premier League. We believe that everyone knows about Leicester now and we are very proud of them,” he said.
The brand said the sponsorship came about because the UK office of the firm was located near the team, rather than being strategically planned or with foresight that the team could have such success.
“Honestly speaking, as Leicester City Football Team’s sponsor, we are really surprised and more than happy that the team we support made the miracle happen. With our office located near Leicester City in the East Midlands of England, we became an official sponsor for this local team in 2014 upon the club’s promotion to the English Premier League. We are very proud of them and salute the players and the organisation for going the full distance,” said Furuishi.
Furuishi says that having a Japanese player Shinji Okazaki at the club has added to the authenticity at home and abroad.
“Last year Japanese star forward Shinji Okazaki joined the club, teaming up with leading scorer Jamie Vardy to form a powerful duo that has propelled the team to the top of the current standings, and fans are starting to take notice. Because the Japanese star forward Shinji Okazaki joined the club, the entire Japanese society was very proud and happy to see the victory of Leicester. There was thus a fair amount of news coverage, and Leicester’s success certainly resonated in Japan,” he said.
Upon the title being handed to Leicester City, Toyo were quick to release a video on social media that has gone on to clock up over 240,000 views on Facebook.