Norqain hit the back of the net with Soccer Aid sponsorship
Andrew McUtchenUK Norqain fans, rejoice! Last night, challenger brand Norqain revealed itself not only to be the timing partner of the hugely popular Soccer Aid event in Manchester at Old Trafford, but also announced a serious push into the UK that will see it increase its number of retail doors to 20 this calendar year.
80,000 fans turned out to see the English side take on the World side, and many were dismayed to see the Home team cut to ribbons by the extraordinary panache of Argentinian player Carlos Teves, who scored four of the five goals for the World team. The biggest roars on the night however were reserved for Angry Ginge, a YouTube star whose popularity was only matched by One Direction star Louis Tomlinson. Both were surprisingly good players, to be fair.
For a brand like Norqain, which has found new angles on an ultralight sports watch with the robustness to match, this event represents a new angle on a sports partnership, and it could not be a better chosen hallowed ground to launch the UK presence to a group of media and retailers. Of course, Time + Tide has been soft launching Norqain in the UK for the last six months, but things step up a notch from now as the young Swiss brand seeks to increase its doors in the UK year upon year.
The event had personal significance for Tobias and Ben Küffer as well. Both are avid football players and were visibly emotional on the soccer (football) pitch when talking on the subject of the partnership and seeing the Norqain logo ring the turf on the LED screens. Ben actually brought his son Ryan to witness the night, and he too was wide-eyed to be invited onto the pitch for a pre-match interview with myself and Gary Neville. The watch that was being advertised is the best seller, the turquoise Wild One. This is a watch I own and frequently struggle to take off my wrist.
However, the timepiece that was the talk of the day was the Norqain Freedom 60 Chrono 40mm ‘Enjoy Life’ special edition that was teased by Mark Wahlberg who called it the ultimate summer watch on his Instagram post. Ben Küffer, once again with wide eyed disbelief told the crowd that this was very much an unpaid spot and that something about the brand has caught Wahlberg‘s loyalty as it is the second time he has posted about Norqain.
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My theory of his attraction to the turquoise Wild One is that it is a Pantone perfect match for his Municipal turquoise colourway as he seems to wear it to match his turquoise Municipal drip. Gary Neville is Norqain’s regional business partner and he crashed my interview with Ben which you can see on socials now. In person he is such a spirited and dynamic character. He talked about the mission to grow Norqain as being very much a personal project that will take more of his time than you may think as he seeks to get hands-on with strategy and business growth as the UK point man for Norqain in addition to a growing team that now includes a general manager and other key staff.