Like so many business endeavors, Puma’s involvement in the 2008-’09 Volvo Ocean Race began with a casual conversation between two people over dinner and wine.
One of those people was Ken Read of Newport, who is known as one of the world’s most accomplished sailors and also is the vice president of North Sails North America, based in Portsmouth. The other was a Puma shareholder, who prefers not to be named.
The two had sailed together, but Read hadn’t realize his friend was a major shareholder in the sports apparel giant until that night last September.
Puma wanted to break into the sailing industry because it’s part of the company’s strategy to expand its brand into new markets. That’s what got the two talking about the Volvo race, Read said – because it is a natural marketing event with worldwide impact.
Things moved rapidly after that conversation. Read’s friend said he would introduce Read to Puma executives. Read got the official first call from Puma in December.
After the initial contact, Read said, he didn’t sleep much for the next two months, because he had to take Puma through every step of entering and running a Volvo Ocean Race team.
This is the first time Puma has ever sponsored a team for a competitive sailing race. And the Volvo race is the “Mount Everest” of sailing. It’s a 39,000-plus-mile race with 11 stops in ports on four continents. The race is nine months long and starts October 2008 in Alicante, Spain.
Leading a sailing program of this size and scope is a first for Read as well, though he’s been part of three America’s Cup campaigns, including two as helmsman. And he sailed aboard the Ericsson Racing yacht during its final four legs, including the trans-Atlantic crossing, in the 2005-06 Volvo race.
Read started sailing with his mother, father and brother at a very young age. His mother says his first sailing experience was “in the womb.” He grew up in Seekonk, and his family sailed a 30-foot cruising boat out of Barrington every weekend.
Asked how he got involved in grand prix racing, Read said he thinks “people are just naturally attracted to what they’re good at.” He called leading the Puma racing team in the Volvo race “something I have to check off the list.”
Read is also a huge promoter of Rhode Island’s capabilities as a world-class sailing capital. He convinced Puma to let him make the Newport Shipyard the home base of Puma Ocean Racing. He expects the company will invest at least $5 million in the Newport, Bristol and Portsmouth area.
That investment doesn’t include the amount that could be spent should Puma decide to choose a Rhode Island boat maker to build the boat. That would boost Puma’s investment to $10 million, Read said. The bid is currently out among a large pool of possible candidates, including New England Boatworks in Portsmouth and Goetz Custom Boats in Bristol.
Puma Ocean Racing also will employ 38 full-time people, half of whom will be local. And that’s not including the number of contract workers it takes to prepare for the race.
That preparation includes mast and sail design, mast and sail servicing and repair, local manufacturing of some parts, and the manpower needed to go on practice runs and test both the practice boat and the final boat, which will be painted like a giant Puma shoe, including laces, rivets and stitching.
“I wouldn’t be doing this here if I didn’t think this area could handle it,” Read said. “There’s too much at stake.”
He added: “We are trumping this area by having it here … not many places in the world can supply the personnel and the infrastructure to make this happen.”
Newport Shipyard, for example, last week supplied two men to work alongside Puma Ocean Racing’s employees to disassemble the practice boat, take it off a barge, and then put it back together in the water. The process took more than 17 hours because it is one of the most complex racing boats in the world.
Just having the racing team in Newport “will have an effect on the local economy,” said John Barnitt, vice president of Southern Spars Rig Pro U.S. in Portsmouth. “There’s a lot of sailing enthusiasts here. People will get excited about it … they will come from all over to see these boats.”
Southern Spars designed and manufactured “quite a few” masts in the last Volvo race, Barnitt said.
“When you do well in a race like that with such extreme conditions … the conditions take a toll on the gear,” he said. “If you survive and your equipment survives it gives the company a performance edge.”
Surviving the race is almost like an endorsement that the product is high quality, durable and innovative, he said. And it leads to future business.
That’s part of the reason why North Sails, which designs, manufactures and services sails worldwide, is letting Read take a two-and-a-half-year sabbatical to participate in the race, Read said. It’s not only good for business because of the contacts Read will make, but also because it gives the company insight on what it is like to use the product from a consumer’s point of view.
For Puma, the race is “the ideal platform to bring Puma into the sport of sailing, as we can expand our brand awareness … worldwide,” said Antonio Bertone, a group functional director of brand and marketing for Puma.
For Rhode Island, the recognition could put its marine industry back in the limelight.
Read said he doesn’t understand why the state and private companies aren’t pursuing teams like this from all over the world. He doesn’t understand why Rhode Island isn’t hosting more sailing events.
“I would agree with him,” said David DePetrillo, Rhode Island’s director of tourism. “Sailing is still one of our strengths and generates income for Rhode Island … it would be nice to see more events.”
The problem is money, he said. Racing organizers look for venues that can provide the most upfront investment from public and private sectors.
“There’s a lot more competition [from other sailing locations],” DePetrillo said. “And competition based strictly on dollars is very tough.”
He added: “We’re just happy to have some very local involvement at such a high level in a race that’s going to attract national attention.”
