Jul 24, 2018

Just five years ago, the Nike popcorn reigned in Mexico.

After losing the contract of the Mexican National Team to its biggest rival, Adidas, after the World Cup in Germany, the American brand set out to dominate Liga MX. At the start of Apertura 2013, no company wore more teams than Nike.

In addition to being the most commonly seen, they were correctly associated with the kings of the league: in the 2012 Apertura they dressed Tijuana, who won their first championship by beating Toluca. Six months later, they celebrated when they saw America beat Cruz Azul in that epic final.

In recent years, the market for clothing Aztec clubs has intensified, and Nike has lost ground to the others. In this 2018 Opening, they only dress America and Pumas.

It seems logical to think that those who remove the powerful Americans from the throne are Adidas, Puma or Under Armour, brands that compete globally with Nike. Actually, it's a Guanajuato company, Charly.

Founded in 1949 as a supplier of footwear in León, Charly was not part of the soccer industry for the first 64 years of its history. But this season you saw five teams, the same number of clubs that Nike had in its heyday a few yesterdays ago.

Off the field, Charly has positioned himself as a very present brand for Mexicans, constantly appearing on television, presenting stores to sell his products and even on Netflix, as the brand provider for one of the most popular programs in the country.

Ironically, it was another shoe company that made it easy for Charly to go from a regional brand to a national powerhouse. The tariff imposed on companies whose manufacturing came from China forced Skechers, a US tennis brand, to stop selling in Mexico. Looking for a partner in the country, Charly signed an exclusive contract with them in 2010 to manufacture and distribute.

Skechers economic might

"There are only two footwear brands that sell more than a billion dollars a year in the US market: Skechers and Nike, hence the importance of this alliance," said Octavio Villalobos, Charly's commercial director after the signing. It was estimated that in the first year after the contract was concluded, 600,000 pairs of Skechers shoes would be sold in Mexico.

The economic power that Skechers granted to Charly allowed the latter to venture into national soccer, and Charly Futbol was born in 2014. Atlético San Luis and Dorados de Sinaloa, both Ascenso MX clubs, were the first to sign with the Guanajuato brand. In addition, Liga MX figures such as Rubens Sambueza and Mauro Boselli also joined sponsorship contracts.

A year after entering the promotion, Charly "promoted" to first, signing with Puebla and Veracruz. On television, the brand was constantly promoted with a campaign featuring ESPN host Vanessa Huppenkothen. More than 150 Charly stores were opened throughout the national territory to facilitate product distribution.

But perhaps the strongest blow came when the Netflix series, Club de Cuervos, became one more Charly sponsored. The popularity of the program has allowed his shirt to become one of the best sellers in Mexico.

Ravens Club

Despite losing Puebla this season to the Chinese company Li-Ning, Charly boasts his five Liga MX teams, including the current champion, Santos Laguna.

"It is a true honor and privilege to be able to announce the alliance between Charly Fútbol and Santos Laguna," said Alejandro Irarragorri, the club's president, at the time, also emphasizing that he was allying himself with an important Mexican brand.

Santos joined Veracruz, Pachuca, Tijuana and Necaxa as clubs sponsored by those from Bajío this season. Tijuana and Pachuca, clubs that were with Nike in 2013, have now passed into Charly's custody.

“[We have] a very committed team of young people with fresh ideas, who mainly cares about the attention to the club and that the design is to the liking of the fan," said Gerardo García, Charly's marketing director in 2016.

Gerardo Garcia

Along with Pirma, another León brand, Mexican sports companies outfit eight of the 18 teams in Liga MX – almost half. While Nike, Adidas and Puma remain relevant by dressing some of the most popular teams in the country (Adidas extended its commercial relationship with Tigres, while Puma has dressed Chivas since 2016), it seems undeniable that Charly's explosive foray has changed the terrain -and fashion- of Mexican soccer in a very short time.