The Sharks have announced an apparel partnership with BLK which will see the sportswear brand produce kits for the South African Super Rugby franchise from January 2014 to December 2018.
For BLK, the deal is part of an international expansion strategy that reaches a key staging post this month.
BLK is owned and operated by the WRS Group, which also owns Australian rugby apparel manufacturer KooGa. From this month the two brands will be consolidated to present a unified brand identity.
As part of the strategy, BLK has established an office in South Africa’s Western Cape and, through partnerships with South African manufacturers, a component of the Sharks’ replica jersey will be produced locally before arriving at retailers later this year.
In the 2013 season the Durban-based franchise finished eighth in the Super Rugby standings and it joins Queensland Reds, Connacht and the Fiji and Samoa national teams among BLK’s rugby union portfolio.