Known for groundbreaking racquet design and elite craftsmanship beginning in 1928, Snauwaert has officially announced its re-entry into the US tennis market. With a new, first-of-its-kind business model that departs from, and disrupts, current category conventions, Snauwaert will deliver, exclusively, direct-to-consumer services.
The brand will sell its newly designed range of performance and youth racquets, strings, grips and bags through its e-commerce website, www.snauwaert.com. In the process, the typical intermediate steps of traditional retail will be fully eliminated, thus allowing for significant investment in the development of a wide-reaching, full service brand ambassador network of coaches globally. Counter to what other brands have traditionally done, Snauwaert ambassadors will receive a commission, and be compensated, for the first time ever, for their promotional activities, thus fueling the growth of the brand and its sales.
The company is led by an all-star collective of sporting goods executives who, in recent years, have delivered some of tennis’ most innovative thinking in product design, promotions, marketing, logistics and customer service. Chief Executive Officer and owner, Roberto Gazzara, former head of research and design for Prince Sports, Inc. will be based out of the company’s Italian headquarters, and will be joined by Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Ken Merritt, an acclaimed grassroots and promotional marketing expert credited for helping to create the blueprint for modern day tennis promotional marketing. An expert third-party operator will oversee all logistics, customer service and warehousing out of its Louisville, Colorado facility, while a hand-selected team of branding, public relations and digital/social media agency partners based in Italy, Spain, Argentina and New York City will develop and execute the brands’ marketing communications initiatives.
“Our mission is simple. We are here to serve tennis and finally take a truly active role in helping the player,” said Gazzara. “We have created a full product line designed to suit players of all levels and have developed an innovative program that will provide high-touch, ‘white glove’ individual concierge support to every Snauwaert player prior to, during and after their equipment selection process – in order to ensure each has the absolute right product in hand.”
In less than two full months, the brand has grown its tribe of promotional sales representatives in the US to more than fifty elite ambassadors. These individuals are top-tier instructors in their local markets charged with providing the consumer with a real-time resource and a better, more personal experience, at every touch point along their journey.
“Our customers are our end users,” said Merritt. “Our business model is to present Snauwaert racquets direct from us to the end user. We answer to, and want to interact directly with, them. We made a conscious decision to serve at the pleasure of the people who play this great game of tennis. They, not anyone else, are our number one priority, period.”
The full Snauwaert product line, including the Vitas 100 and the Grinta 100 can be found at: https://shop.snauwaert.com/
For more information, additional images, interview requests or product demo opportunities, please contact: media@snauwaert.com
About Snauwaert: Snauwaert Srl, based in Lodi, Italy, is a direct-to-consumer racquet sports manufacturer dedicated to serving the sport of tennis and its players. Snauwaert Srl. manages operations in Europe and oversees sales and promotions in two additional subsidiaries, Snauwaert Japan Inc., and Snauwaert Inc. USA. Founded in 1928, and active in Japan and Belgium since 2016, the brand announced its full re-launch in 2018. Throughout its history, Snauwaert has delivered some of tennis’ most game-changing products, resulting in 66 grand slam titles and has been played by many of the sports most beloved athletes.
