Worldwide expansion: Strauss founds a licensing company – Photos: Strauss
REGION MKK
For global master franchises
02.11.24 – With collaborations such as the partnership with Major League Baseball, the European market leader is underpinning its ambitions for expansion in the USA and worldwide. Strauss became the first helmet sponsor in baseball history in September. The popularity of the sport is currently breaking all records – including in Japan, a previously untapped market for the workwear brand. Thanks to Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, 16 million Japanese watched the first two games of the MLB World Series. For the first time, the reach exceeded that of baseball’s home country of the USA, where more than 14 million people watched the third game of the World Series. In recent years, Strauss has also collaborated with global brands such as Metallica, Nintendo and Liverpool FC. In the course of global growth, the company founded an agency for sports and media partnerships and thus further professionalized the successful brand strategy organizationally.
The structural update also heralds a new development: Strauss is pooling its intellectual property by founding a licensing company – thereby opening the way for new sales concepts. So-called master franchising is conceivable: Strauss grants a franchise license to a local player who independently sells the brand in accordance with the conditions of the respective market. Licensed products are also conceivable.
“The iconic work trousers with the bird have global potential. In order to be able to offer them efficiently in new markets around the world, a franchising model is an attractive option for us. And our brand offers so many more possibilities: from men’s fragrance to combine harvesters “A lot is imaginable. This will give our family business a growth perspective for the next few decades,” says Henning Strauss.
At the turn of the year, Strauss reorganized itself and adjusted its corporate structure – all companies will now appear under the Strauss name. Since 2020, when the company updated its corporate identity and presented a new company logo, the workwear manufacturer has mostly been operating under the name Strauss. Now the names of the companies in the group are also being adjusted. In the future, the umbrella company will operate under the name Strauss GmbH & Co.KG.
Brand boss and owner Henning Strauss explains the advantages of the concise company name: “The baseball helmet shows: The Strauss works worldwide. Brand presence on boards, jerseys and helmets is comparable to a doorbell sign – it must be possible to quickly identify who can be found here. Our last name is obviously perfect for this: it conveys our unique brand personality that has been distinguished over the years and at the same time is understandable worldwide.”
At the same time, the popular founding name of the grandfather of the current managing directors Steffen and Henning Strauss, Engelbert, will remain in the European product brand in the future and will adorn the labels of the range. “Strauss remains Strauss. We are strengthening our roots and investing in our region – and at the same time bringing Grandpa Engelbert’s legacy to the wider world. All Engelbert fans can look forward to a lot of new products with our bird in the future,” says CEO and owner Steffen Bouquet. (nia/pm) +++
