Real Sociedad will be one of the European teams without a major sponsor – Reproduction / Twitter (@RealSociedad)
British online car retailer Cazoo’s ‘adventure’ into European football was short-lived. The company, which was using the method to gain exposure, revealed Thursday (8) that it will terminate all sponsorship contracts signed with clubs on the continent, with the exception of teams in England.
The company, which was gaining traction in markets such as Spain, France, Germany and Italy, decided to stop investing and would exit all of these markets. This will affect clubs like parity And the Real Sociedad (Spain), Marseille Olympics And the night (France), Freiburg (Germany) and Bologna (Italy). It is worth noting that some of these contracts started in the current season, about a month or two ago.
The decision to spin off is the final chapter of a business reorganization plan unveiled in August. The company has decided that it will focus solely on the UK and is striving for profitability by the end of 2023. The strategic shift includes improving the economics of the retail unit, reducing costs and increasing liquidity.
The idea is to act on this change in order to ensure an “orderly slowdown”. Cazoo plans to save more than £200m over the next 16 months, which will also impact a range of employees. According to the British website SportPro Media, about 750 jobs in the company will be affected.
“We have a number of partnerships across the European continent and will work with our partners to ensure an orderly reduction of these relationships for the benefit of all parties,” a Cazoo spokesperson told SportsPro Media.
To give you an idea, according to the Valencia Plaza website, during the first half of the year, Cazoo increased its losses by 138% compared to the same period in 2021, to £243m.
The company’s CEO, Alex Chesterman, called the situation “a difficult but necessary decision to put Cazoo on the path to profitability by the end of next year.”
The company has not confirmed the financial cost of terminating sponsorship. Behind the scenes, millions of pounds were speculated, with some deals only standing for a month or two.
At least for the time being, contracts will be maintained in the UK. This includes English Premier League club Aston Villa, as well as investments in cricket, rugby, snooker, darts and horse racing.
