Asian Tour gets into style with Abacus

ASIAN TOUR GETS INTO STYLE WITH ABACUS

Singapore, June 29: Swedish sportswear company, Abacus will become the Official Apparel Partner of the Asian Tour, providing a wide range of stylish apparel for officials and staff members of the Asian Tour following a two-and-a-half year agreement until the end of 2014.

Through this new and exciting partnership which was announced today, Abacus will also develop a collection specifically for the Asian Tour, which is the region’s elite professional golf circuit.

Abacus will enjoy multiple opportunities to leverage its brand across the Asian Tour’s worldwide media platforms that include its official website, www.asiantour.com and a global television platform which reaches over 200 countries and 650 million households.

”We are very excited about this partnership with the Asian Tour. Since we started our distribution in China and South Korea two years ago, we’ve enjoyed great success and this partnership with the Asian Tour is a very good and natural progression for our expansion plans throughout Asia,” said Chris Mattsson, Chief Executive Officer of Abacus.

“We are very proud that the Asian Tour has chosen Abacus as their Official Apparel Partner and we know that this partnership will greatly increase the abacus® brand awareness throughout the whole of Asia,” added Mattsson.

Asian Tour Chief Executive Officer, Mike Kerr said the latest partnership was another strong endorsement towards the cosmopolitan appeal of the Asian Tour.

“We are delighted to welcome Abacus as an Asian Tour partner. It is fantastic that Abacus, as one of the leading golf apparel brands in the world, understands and values the broad reach and authentic platform that the Asian Tour offers” said Kerr.

“This partnership also provides the Asian Tour with a functional and relevant on-ground opportunity to showcase the Abacus apparel range as it continues to grow its global brand appeal,” added Kerr.

The Swedish company has in the last 10 years grown from being a fledgling in the Scandinavian golf fashion market to a globally established brand in sports and fashion.

Abacus has been the official European Solheim Cup Team apparel provider since 2007 and has been granted an apparel license for the Ryder Cup up to 2018. Abacus is also the Official Clothing Partner of the European Tour, Irish Open, Scottish Open and Nordea Masters. 

Abacus dresses the English Golf Union, The German Golf Federation, The Danish Union and the Norwegian Golf Federation and its apparel is also sold at many leading Pro Shops around the world.

They include Pebble beach in the United States, Barseback in Sweden and Mission Hills Golf Club in China. 

Its golfing brand ambassadors include LPGA Tour players Seon Hwa of Korea, Scottland’s Cattriona Matthew, Spain’s Maria Hernandez and Sweden’s Christian Nilsson. 

Richard S Johnson of Sweden, who is a two-time winner on the European Tour, is also sponsored by Abacus.

The combination of high quality designs with qualified functionality has reaped great success in both Europe and North America, and has already begun to establish itself in Asia where it has five flagship stores in Korea.

The Asian Tour is the official sanctioning body for professional golf in Asia and is the only player-led organisation in the region. Its cosmopolitan membership consists of over 300 members from nearly 30 different nationalities from around the world, including the likes of current Asian Tour number one Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand, India’s Jeev Milkha Singh, China’s Liang Wen-chong, Korea’s Noh Seung-yul and Australia’s Scott Hend.

Major champion Y.E. Yang  of Korea, compatriot K.J. Choi, India’s Jeev Milkha Singh and Vijay Singh of Fiji are honorary members of the Asian Tour.

About Abacus
Abacus markets and sells leisure clothing with golf at the heart of its inspiration.  Abacus Sportswear manufactures functional clothing where design is combined with quality and function. abacus® is available in over twenty countries, with very strong market positions in Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Germany and Canada. The goal is to continue developing abacus® into an international lifestyle brand that reaches beyond the world of golf.

About the Asian Tour
As the official sanctioning body for professional golf in Asia, the Asian Tour leads the development of golf across the region, enhancing the careers of its members while maintaining a commitment to the integrity of the game. The Asian Tour, through its membership of the International Federation of PGA Tours, is the only recognised pan-Asian professional golf tour in Asia.  This unique feature positions the Asian Tour at the pinnacle of professional golf in Asia; providing its events with Official World Ranking status. Tour Partners include Rolex (Official Timekeeper), Starwood Hotels and Resorts (Official Hotels and Resorts), Cityneon (Official Event Overlay Partner), Inetol Headwear (Official Headwear Supplier), Singha Beer (Official Beer), BlackBerry (Official Communications Partner) and Srixon (Official Ball). The Asian Tour has offices in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.