thorpie's sponsors all stoked, page-2

snf up 10c to 75c after news article Thorpedo bids for business riches
By Tony Vermeer
August 22, 2004


FRESH from his Olympic triumphs, Ian Thorpe will launch a new business venture that could set him up to challenge Greg Norman as Australia's richest sports star.

Next month a new drink called Thorpedo sports water will hit the shelves. It's manufactured by a joint venture food and beverage company, Thorpedo Foods, that is 75 per cent owned by the swimmer.

Thorpe's partner, health food manufacturer So Natural Foods, is predicting sales of $10 million in the first year and $50 million over three years with launches planned in the huge markets of Japan and China where Thorpe is revered.

A Thorpedo range of smoothies and fruit drinks and a range of healthy seafood products are also on the drawing board.

As part of the deal, Thorpe has been given a six per cent stake in So Natural Foods and has agreed to endorse its other products.

The company described the deal as a "transforming event", and has told the Australian stock exchange that total sales could grow from $22 million to $300 million in three years.

Some analysts say the Thorpe factor is behind a near 20 per cent lift in the company's share price over the past fortnight.

Thorpe, whose stake in the company is worth $1.3 million, already earns an estimated $3.8 million a year from direct sponsorship and marketing deals.

Paul Smith, managing director of sponsorship management consultants Repucom, said before Athens Thorpe was the highest priced athlete in Australia, with a 12-month sponsorship costing an estimated $515,000.

"I'd say given his performances at the Olympics and his outstanding record as an individual that a 25 per cent increase is not out of the question," he said.

Thorpe has 13 major sponsors and has lent his name to a line of Mitch Dowd underwear which he showed off on the pool deck in Athens this week.

But Thorpe's management has indicated he is moving towards taking shares in companies rather than accepting more sponsorships - a move Mr Smith believes could generate enormous wealth - even after his swimming career. He said Thorpe would eventually rival golfer Greg Norman as Australia's most successful individual sports business brand.

Norman, who turns 50 next year, is worth an estimated $230 million, most of which he has earned through business ventures off the golf course.

"What Norman was in the '80s and '90s Ian will be over the next 20 years," he said.

"What Ian has got in his sights with these business ventures is the huge Chinese market and that's why there's no doubt he will be swimming right up to the Beijing Olympics."

Con Stavros, senior lecturer in sports marketing at RMIT University, said Thorpe's strategy was the best way of ensuring his earning power in the long term.

"He's obviously a young man who takes a real interest in his business affairs and has a very clear strategy."