Wish agreed to $30 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers to put the Wish logo on their jersey over the next three years. Peter Szulczewski knew that this would raise some eyebrows as to why his young e-commerce company is making such an expensive deal. Wish is the maker of one of the most well-known and popular shopping apps in the world.
When news broke out that the company would be shelling out more than $36 million to $42 million over the next three years in a deal with the Lakers, Szulczewski said that it was “basically a no-brainer.” In a report by Recode, writer Jason Del Rey spoke with the CEO and was provided with a few reasons as to why the deal made sense.
Here are the reasons: Los Angeles is Wish’s biggest target market and its biggest overall market in the US; Credibility provided by association, especially with 35 games being broadcasted nationally and hype around rookie Lonzo Ball, it gives great spotlight to Wish; the Los Angeles Lakers are quite popular and huge in China; and finally, a wake-up call to big-name brands.
”The Lakers are an iconic, everlasting, global brand that people admire. That has a lot more impact for us as a lesser-known, young brand than it does for, say, Goodyear (the Cleveland Cavaliers jersey sponsor),” Szulczewski said. “It does a lot for helping establish credibility and because we’re selling unbranded goods to consumers, our brand really matters.”
While this move may have seemed questionable at first, no move is without risk. The company is expected to be an IPO candidate in the next two years, so making big moves like this allows the company to further its reach and gain the confidence of investors. While $36 million to $42 million may seem like a lot of money, if the return of investment is far above what the company spent, it’s well worth it. Only time will tell.
