English Premier League giants, Manchester United (NYSE:MANU) have today
announced a five year partnership with Vietnamese bank, BIDV.
BIDV, which stands for Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam,
was established in 1957 and is one of the top three banks in the
country, with an annual turnover of over $200 million employing almost
18,000 people.
The new agreement will see BIDV offer some of United’s 26.5 million
followers in Vietnam the bank’s first affinity credit card. The BIDV
Manchester United Credit Card will come with an array of attractive
benefits including United prize draws, giveaways and special Club
discounts. BIDV will also introduce a Manchester United debit card early
next season to reach out further to the fan base and diversify the
product portfolio.
Manchester United Commercial Director, Richard Arnold comments;
‘Vietnam is a very important country for Manchester United. The Club is
lucky enough to have a large and very passionate set of fans there, with
some 30 million supporters watching the team on TV last season. Some 10%
of the country's total Facebook users are also a Manchester United
Facebook follower and the Club has a database of over 2.4 million
Vietnamese fans who have registered their interest in United. We are
very pleased to be able to work with BIDV to offer them this great new
product, a first for both the banks and Club in Vietnam. With more than
120 branches, 600 transaction offices as well as over 1300 ATM’s in 63
cities, BIDV has the right amount of presence around the country to be
able to connect with our fans.
'We know from the other financial services sponsorships we have around
the world that fans find this a great way to engage with the Club, with
deals putting hundreds of thousands of cards in the hands of United fans
within weeks of being available.
‘BIDV shares many of the same values of Manchester United, such as
striving to be pioneers in its industry whilst respecting its history
and traditions. Everyone at the Club is looking forward to a successful
partnership.’
About Manchester United
Manchester United is one of the most popular and successful sports teams
in the world, playing one of the most popular spectator sports on Earth.
Through our 135-year heritage we have won 60 trophies, enabling us to
develop the world’s leading sports brand and a global community of 659
million followers. Our large, passionate community provides Manchester
United with a worldwide platform to generate significant revenue from
multiple sources, including sponsorship, merchandising, product
licensing, new media & mobile, broadcasting and match day.
