PETALING JAYA: Children who are football fans can now wear T-shirts with Lionel Messi’s name on it as Al-Ikhsan Sports has been granted exclusive rights to sell the Messi Kidswear brand.
Al-Ikhsan Sports is the first sports retailer in the world to launch the brand after inking an agreement with Vingino Netherlands, which owns the global rights to the Messi Kidswear brand.
Under the agreement, Al-Ikhsan Sports has the rights to sell the brand’s T-shirts, polos, shorts, hoodies, track bottoms and underwear in Malaysia.
Its CEO, Vach Pillutla, said it is a great honour for him and the company to be associated with the brand.
“For all football fans globally, the Messi magic goes beyond just the pitch. He lost in a Fifa World Cup final once in 2014 and lost two finals in the South America Cup. But in the end, he won all the trophies,” he said.
“He is now a symbol of how someone from the working class can rise and emerge as the foremost proponent of the game and excel consistently at the highest level. We hope, with this merchandise, children can be inspired by Messi’s hard work, effort and high levels of integrity.”
Pillutla said the partnership between Al-Ikhsan Sports and the Dutch company is a “perfect pairing”.
“We share the same values of hard work, honesty and integrity and, therefore, this relationship is an excellent fit. In keeping with our core purpose of making sports affordable, we intend to sell the fashion children’s wear, starting from RM59 for round neck tees to RM219 for hoodies and jackets.
“This is an international brand brought exclusively to Malaysia, and I think the prices are reasonable. We intend to increase the distribution of this merchandise to more stores over the next six to eight months, and make this available to all the 20 million football fans across Malaysia”.
Vingino Netherlands CEO Jan Van Den Berg said Al-Ikhsan Sports has football in its DNA.
“We are happy to be associated with Al-Ikhsan Sports. I am sure no other company can do better justice to the Messi-branded apparel, and we look forward to a long-term partnership”.
Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh, who was present at the launch, said the partnership could spur Malaysian children to pursue sports.
“Our children will have more interest in sports with Messi’s name on these clothing line. This will create excitement for them when playing football. We never know, this could lead to shaping future athletes,” she added.
Messi Kidswear apparel is available for babies up to teenagers.
The products will be initially launched in 30 selected Al-Ikhsan Sports and Football Republic outlets, and will also be available online at Al-Ikhsan Sports website at www.al-ikhsan.com.
