Uniqlo signs landmark sponsorship deal with Roger Federer

Japanese global fashion giant Uniqlo has signed a landmark sponsorship deal, said to be worth $300m, with tennis star Roger Federer.

Beginning with the Wimbledon Championship, which got underway yesterday, Federer will wear Uniqlo's designs at all of his tennis tournaments throughout the next year. 

Federer, who was previously associated with Nike, will wear kit designed at Uniqlo's Paris R&D centre by a team led by artistic director Christophe Lemaire.

Instead of a classic crew neck or polo shirt with collar, Federer's shirt features a short stand-up collar with a burgundy colour line at the edge of the sleeves and on the front panel of the shirt. The burgundy feature also appears on the side of the shorts to highlight Uniqlo's corporate colour.

Uniqlo founder and chairman and president and CEO of its parent company Fast Retailing, Tadashi Yanai, said his respect for Federer went beyond sport. "Our partnership will be about innovation on and off court. We share a goal of making positive change in the world, and together I hope we can bring the highest quality of life to the greatest number of people."

Federer added: "I am deeply committed to tennis and to winning championships. But like Uniqlo I also have a great love for life, culture and humanity. We share a strong passion to have a positive impact on the world around us and I look forward to combining our creative endeavours."

While Uniqlo is not a sports company it has a number of professional athletes in its Ambassador programme including Kei Nishikori (tennis), Shingo Kenieda and Gordon Reid (wheelchair tennis) and Adam Scott (golf).