Wilson Sporting Goods Company

Q. Tell us a little about Wilson Sporting Goods.

A. Chicago based Wilson Sporting Goods Co., owned by Amer Sports, is one of the world's leading manufacturers of sports equipment. Wilson designs, manufactures and distributes sporting goods throughout the world and focuses on making technologically advanced products which help players of all levels perform better. Wilson's core sport categories include: Football, Basketball, Baseball, Softball, Volleyball, Soccer, Youth Sports, Uniform/Apparel, Golf, Footwear and Racquet Sports (Tennis, Racquetball, Badminton, Squash and Platform Tennis).

Q. What is Wilson's purpose in creating a breast cancer cause-related marketing program?

A. Wilson pursued a cause related effort in 1998 when they became an official partner of BCRF. In the beginning, Wilson donated a portion of the proceeds from the sales of all its women's sporting goods products to BCRF. In 2004, Wilson became the Official Sporting Goods Equipment Sponsor of BCRF, and annual donations are now made through the purchase of all Wilson products. Wilson felt that the choice of BCRF as a partner was in keeping with the company's focus on corporate social responsibility.

Q. Why are Wilson's pink products a good match for breast cancer?

A. Wilson expanded the partnership in 2004 by creating and launching HOPE, a line of pink sporting goods equipment created for women in its design and concept. With the HOPE line, Wilson makes an additional donation to BCRF with the sale of every HOPE product. Even though HOPE products were launched as pink products, the line has expanded and become very successful for Wilson.

Q. What are Wilson's goals for the BCRF campaign?

A. Wilson's goal is to help create awareness about BCRF's mission to eliminate breast cancer. We are able to do this by providing specific information on our packaging, advertising, and our website. Wilson is a strong partner all year long, and would like to play a significant role in helping The BCRF achieve a cure for breast cancer in our lifetime.

Q. Why is breast cancer research important to Wilson?

A. Many Wilson employees, their spouses and families have had or been touched by breast cancer. Wilson feels we can help The BCRF in its efforts by having our contributions donated to medical research programs.

Q. Why did Wilson choose The Breast Cancer Research Foundation rather than another breast cancer charity?

A. When Wilson pursued a partnership, it was important to know that the contribution we were making was going mainly to help fund medical research programs and not overhead. We found BCRF to have received exceptional recognition from several organizations that monitor and provide comprehensive, unbiased information on charities. We were impressed that BCRF has received the highest rating with over 85 cents of every dollar donated going to help fund medical research programs.