FC Schalke 04 Launches Online Store for Fans in the U.S.

GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany, September 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Royal Blues implement new project for long-term internationalization

Another step towards FC Schalke 04's internationalization is complete after the club opened an online store for fans in the USA on Thursday, September 3. American fans of the Royal Blues can now get their hands on S04 merchandise at schalke04store.com.

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150907/264127 )

S04's Member of the Managing Board for Marketing Alexander Jobst is excited about the new development: "This project is another milestone in our long-term internationalization strategy. The U.S. is an important market for us, so we're delighted that our American fans will now be able to access fan merchandise quickly and easily."

Schalke 04 will be supported by Soccer Ventures for online-store operations. Owner Matthew Gleason is looking forward to the collaboration. "Schalke 04 is the second-biggest sports club in Germany - we are proud that we will be able to offer all S04 fans a comprehensive and straightforward shopping experience."

The distribution center for the S04 fan merchandise will be in Carlsbad, CA. It allows for significantly shorter delivery times to Schalke fans in North, Central and South America.

The Royal Blues currently have three official fan clubs in the United States with 83 members. Around 35,000 American supporters keep up-to-date with the club on Facebook, with a further 12,000 following S04 on Twitter. Jobst feels there is lots of potential: "The USA provides us with huge opportunities. In the mid- to long-term, we want to and will increase our prominence substantially."

As well as opening the online store, the Royal Blues are also expanding their social-media activities. Through Facebook's Global Pages structure, an additional page loaded with content specifically aimed at American fans will be put in place, while there is now also a fourth Twitter account for the club, with www.twitter.com/s04_us providing exclusive content to Schalke fans in the U.S.

In January 2016, American S04 supporters will be able to see their favorite club up close and personal. As part of their preparation for the second half of the season, FC Schalke 04 will be heading to Orlando, FL, and will also contest the Florida Cup as part of their training camp.

Contact:

Steffen Jüngst, +49-209-3618373, [email protected]

SOURCE FC Schalke 04