▶ Kumho Tire signs a three-year partnership extension with Tottenham Hotspur, an English Premier League club that Son Heung-min plays for.
▶ The company intends to leverage the popularity of the EPL to enhance its brand recognition and global presence as a tire maker.


 Kumho Tire, led by Chairman & CEO Kim Jong-ho, renewed its partnership yesterday (local time) with Tottenham Hotspur, a prestigious soccer club in the English Premier League, as its Official Tyre Partner for a further three years up to the 2020/2021 season. With the Korean soccer player Son Heung-min extending his contract with the Club last July to 2023, the deal is expected to help strengthen Kumho’s presence significantly going forward.

 The agreement was signed at Hotspur Way, the Club’s training center located in London, the United Kingdom, in a ceremony attended by representatives from both parties, including Ju Kyungtai, President of Kumho Tire Europe GmbH, and first-team players Son Heung-min, Victor Wanyama, Fernando Llorente, and Kieran Trippier.

 Founded in 1882, the North London-based football club is a force to be reckoned with in the EPL. The team finished third in the 2017/2018 season and has a global following in excess of 400 million and over 160 Official Supporters Clubs worldwide. It has gained much greater popularity among Korean soccer fans since 2015 when Son moved to the club from Bayer Leverkusen in the German Bundesliga. Now it has almost become a household name in Korea.

 Kumho Tire started being an official global partner of Tottenham Hotspur in 2016 when it signed an agreement with the club for the first time. The deal took on all the more significance because Son joined the team in the previous season. Since then, the club has finished third or higher in the EPL and advanced to the UEFA Champions League, which has contributed to a successful partnership and has led to the deal extension with Kumho Tire.

 The extended agreement allows Kumho’s brand to be exposed through different channels such as LED signboards and A boards during Tottenham’s league and cup matches, match brochures, and the club’s website. The company also has the right to use the club’s logo and the images of its key players including Son. In addition, it plans to invite Tottenham players to events and soccer lessons for customers.

 The EPL is the world’s most popular soccer league whose revenues from broadcasting rights alone are expected to exceed 5.1 billion pounds (KRW 7,332.5 billion) by 2019. From 2007 and 2011, Kumho sponsored Manchester United, which the Korean Park Ji-sung played for at the time before starting its partnership with Tottenham Hotspur. These deals enabled Kumho to promote its image as a young and dynamic company among global soccer fans. In addition to its brand promotion, Kumho has conducted a variety of promotional events and activities to form positive relationships with local customers and global business partners.

 Daniel Levy, Chairman of Tottenham Hotspur, said: “Extending our partnership with Kumho Tire reinforces the success of the relationship we have had over the past two years. It is exciting to continue this collaboration that will see us support the growth of the Kumho business and brand through our growing digital channels both here in the UK and in key international markets.”

 Ju Kyungtai, President of Kumho Tire Europe GmbH, added: “We are thrilled to be extending our association with such a prestigious club as Tottenham Hotspur – this partnership has already been extremely successful and we very much look forward to continuing to work on engaging with our customers and the Club’s fans around the world, which will enable us to enhance our brand recognition and our position as a global tire maker.”