While the return of Shinji Kagawa has greatly pleased Dortmund fans, the Japanese international will offer much more than his on-field flair. German newspaper BILD have said that after only signing 48 hours ago; the BVB store has already sold 5,000 Shinji Kagawa shirts, resulting in a turnover of €425,000.
The Asian market is traditionally very hard to break into, especially when all top clubs are trying to get their foot in the door. One such club that has prevailed would be Manchester United, thanks mainly to their dominance in the past and signing key Asian players. This is an area that Bundesliga clubs need to be seriously looking at due to the high amount of Asian footballers playing in the league. Clubs such as Schalke, Dortmund, Leverkusen, Hannover, Mainz, Eintracht Frankfurt, Hoffenheim, Stuttgart, Hertha BSC, Augsburg and Köln have at least one player from Japan or South Korea. That’s 11 of the 18 Bundesliga clubs. After the J-League, the Bundesliga has the most active Japanese internationals playing in it, which can easily open doors to the Asian market. Dortmund’s rise in reputation thanks to title wins in 2010/11, 2011/12 and performances in the UEFA Champions League, plus the signings of Shinji Kagawa and South Korean Ji Don-Wong, will go a long way to improving their status in East Asia.
BVB marketing boss Carsten Cramer has said the signing of Shinji Kagawa will help to get a further foothold in the Asian market. Next week he will fly to Tokyo and Singapore, the latter is where Dortmund recently set up an office.
“When it comes to marketing, the transfer of Kagawa plays straight into Dortmund’s hands. Kagawa will help us tremendously in Japan and Asia, which pushes us in the right direction,” Cramer told BILD.