By Konstantin Marrach
Hertha BSC is still deep in the financial crisis.
The license for the 2nd league was only obtained with a bang. But the economic problems are far from solved. Among other things, a main sponsor for the coming season is still missing.
As BZ learned, there was now an offer for the crisis club in the millions. A Berlin sneaker guru wants to become the main sponsor at Hertha. We are talking about Stepan Timoshin, owner and managing director of the company VADITIM.
The 22-year-old has 400 employees and generates sales in the millions. His concept: Timoshin buys limited-edition shoes early in order to sell them at a higher price later – both online and in his Berlin boutique near KaDeWe.
Stepan Timoshin on BZ: “I’ve been a Hertha fan for 12 years, I’ve been going regularly to the Olympic Stadium with my family for ten years and now also with my wife, or I watch the games on TV.”
An initial contact was made by Hertha, he says: “A high-ranking employee came up to me and said the club was still looking for a main sponsor.”
The smart sneaker guru was immediately impressed by this idea: “I’m a Berlin boy and it would be a dream to sponsor Hertha and to help with my company to get the club back into the Bundesliga.”
What would VADITIM pay as main sponsor?
What would his company VADITIM pay as the main sponsor? “I made an offer for 1.5 million euros,” says Stepan Timoshin. “Those responsible at Hertha said they would contact me if necessary.”
What does the club say about the negotiations? Hertha President Kay Bernstein to BILD: “I know him and I also noticed the offer he made on the Internet. I know our marketer, Sportfive, is currently in contact with him.”
And further: “But to be honest, a main sponsor who wants to pay 1.5 million euros doesn’t really get us anywhere. In addition, we already have several offers for this amount. The fact is: we want a main sponsor who can and wants to pay more.”
According to reports, Hertha is looking for him Exit from the previous main sponsor Autohero a partner who would pay 2.5 to 3 million euros. But obviously no company has been found that is willing to invest such a large sum in the crisis club.
So it’s quite possible that Hertha will actually wear VADITIM’s advertising on their jerseys from the new season onwards.