Sydney Roosters Partner with Peugeot

SYDNEY – Jan 15, 2014: The Sydney Roosters are pleased to announce Peugeot Automobiles Australia (PAA) as one of the Club’s new major partners, with the global car manufacturer joining the foundation club as the upper chest and top back of jersey sponsor.

PAA is very excited about the new partnership that will see the two brands joined together for the next three years.

General Manager of Sime Darby Automobiles Australia (importer of Peugeot and Citroen), John Startari, says Peugeot was thrilled to be partnering with the Roosters.

“Our brand signature ‘motion and emotion’ is the heartbeat of our product and the Roosters are a team that display these merits with authenticity and inspiration.”

PAA National Marketing Manager, Dimitri Andreatidis, said: “We want people to experience Peugeot by bringing to life the foundations of our brand including excellence in the quality of our product and the emotion and excitement of our products.”

“We are committed to engineering the most stimulating driving experiences based on the most aesthetic, emotional and ergonomic vehicles,” Andreatidis said.

Peugeot has a unique past of more than 200 years and has been building cars since 1889. PSA (Peugeot Société Anonyme) is the second largest automobile manufacturer in Europe and is one of the top ten car makers in the world. Peugeot’s history creates the perfect synergy with the Roosters as they are the only team in the NRL that has been continuously represented every year since the game’s inception in Australia.

Beyond sharing its team colours of red, white and blue and an emblem of the Rooster with France, the Roosters have a strong French connection, with French-speaking head coach Trent Robinson commencing his coaching career with France’s Toulouse Olympique in 2005. He was also named ‘Super League Coach of the Year’ in 2011 after his efforts with French club Les Catalans Dragons and the Roosters have also welcomed French international Rémi Casty to the club in 2014.

The Lion brand has always been passionately involved in motorsport. Peugeot shares some fundamental core values with the world of sport: dynamism, a sense of beauty and style, team spirit and endurance. So, a sponsorship in the sporting arena is a perfect fit.

All these values are exhibited in the various disciplines of motorsport including rallies, circuit racing and endurance events. Its sporting exploits have not only won Peugeot numerous trophies, but have also ensured that its cars are recognised for their reliability.

Since day one, Peugeot has succeeded on the world stage when it comes to motorsport. In fact, Peugeot won the world’s first motorsport event, a reliability trial from Paris to Rouen in 1894. This followed with another victory a year later in the world’s first speed race from Paris-Bordeaux-Paris. For 120 years, Peugeot has continued to demonstrate its motorsport success, winning across multiple disciplines and events, the latest of which was the brand’s record breaking run up the treacherous Pikes Peak Hill Climb in the USA with Sebastien Loeb behind the wheel of the 208 T16.

Welcoming the partnership with the Club, Roosters Chief Operating Officer Commercial, Ted Helliar, said: “We are delighted to enter this significant partnership with Peugeot as we prepare to get our 2014 campaign underway.

“Just like the Roosters, Peugeot has a strong history based on tradition and respect, and a culture focussed on quality and innovation,” said Helliar.

“As our negotiations strengthened, both organisations recognised the vast synergies between our two brands and businesses and we are extremely excited to be delivering our world class product to another world class sponsor.

“It’s a compliment to the Roosters brand and the work we’ve been doing over the last couple of years to welcome another global brand like Peugeot to not only our Club but the game of rugby league, and we look forward to working closely with Peugeot on a number of new initiatives over the next three years,” he added.

Roosters Captain, Anthony Minichiello, will become a brand ambassador for Peugeot and is looking forward to choosing his new car.

“On behalf of the playing group, I’d like to welcome Peugeot to the Roosters. I’m honoured to be coming on board as a Peugeot Ambassador and everyone at the Club is looking forward to working with the team at Peugeot,” said Minichiello.

Peugeot cars have had a continuous presence on Australian roads since 1949 and it was in 1953 that Peugeot started assembling cars here – with the 203.

Peugeot will feature on the Roosters jersey for the first time in February’s Auckland Nines tournament, prior to the NRL season getting underway in March, and will feature on all playing apparel moving forward.