This time, the movement is taking on the appearance of an exodus. After Toyota in May, then Panasonic last month, a third global partner of the IOC, a member of the TOP marketing program, is leaving the house. Like the first two, it is Japanese.
Bridgestone, the global tire giant, announced in a statement published on its website on October 1 its decision not to renew its contract with the IOC. It expires at the end of the year and will not be extended.
The Japanese company explains: “ Bridgestone has decided and agreed with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) not to renew its current Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partnership Agreement after its expiration at the end of 2024. The decision comes after an assessment of the company’s evolving brand strategy and recommitment to more endemic global motorsport platforms. »
The message is clear, if not very precise: the world's number 2 tire maker, created in 1931, will remain present in motor sports, its core market. But it is leaving the Olympic and Paralympic worlds.
The company says it wants to strengthen its presence in motorsport, to " play a vital role in the future of mobility by strengthening its position as a sustainable premium brand. » It wants to address its consumers more directly and better promote its products, two difficult things at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Bridgestone joined the global TOP program in 2014, then extended it until the Paris 2024 Games. In 2018, the brand extended its partnership to the Paralympic Games.
Question: Are the departures of Toyota, Panasonic and Bridgestone an illustration of Japan's disengagement from the Olympic movement, a more or less direct consequence of the corruption scandal linked to the Tokyo 2020 Games, or do they reflect a loss of momentum in the commercial appeal of the Games?
One thing is certain: the Japanese brands, always present in the TOP program since its creation after the Los Angeles Games in 1984, are not all leaving at the same time by chance alone. The Tokyo 2020 Games, held in the middle of a pandemic and a year late, then the withdrawal of Sapporo from the race for the 2030 Winter Games, seem to have sounded the end of an era. The big names in the Japanese economy are not turning away from sport, but they are looking for a more direct way to reach their audience.
Worrying for the IOC? The answer should not be long in coming. The body hinted during the Paris 2024 Games that an Indian partner could soon join the TOP program. It would not surprise anyone if it were followed, or preceded, by a Chinese brand.
The TOP program has 12 members for the 2025-28 Olympiad: AB Inbev, Airbnb, Alibaba, Allianz, Atos, Coca-Cola, Deloitte, Intel, Omega, P&G, Samsung and Visa. It had 15 for the previous cycle.
