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THE EVIAN CHAMPIONSHIPSeptember 9, 2015Senhyo LeeCristie KerrJacques BungertHeather Daly-DonofrioEvian-les-Bains, France THE MODERATOR: I'm going to say a few words about the new partnership of Lacoste with the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship. It's a championship that fits perfectly the Lacoste brand, because in Lacoste's spot in golf, specifically is a family affair. The founder of Lacoste, the founder of the first ever done polo, René Lacoste, was a tennis player. His wife, Simone Thion de la Chaume, was a golf champion. One of their children, Catherine, was actually a golf champion, and she won the U.S. Open in 1967 if I remember well. So that's a family affair. Golf for Lacoste is not only something from the past, a legacy, but it's as well something else today. That's why we have many activities. The first one is a partnership, so a partnership with tournaments like this one, the Evian Championship, and many others, the Alstom Open de France, the Lacoste Ladies' Open de France, Hassan II Trophy, Lalla Meryem Cup, and of course the KEB Hana Bank Championship from today. And that's the first thing. The second thing is the players themselves, but it's the value of the brand, the elegance, the fair play, the creativity, and the joie de vivre that is key for the brand. Last but not least, they are in position for helping young players to express themselves through sport, and of course we'll have the collection. Lacoste has put its savoir faire into a golf collection that you can find actually here, a collection that combines the functionality but as well elegance, because as René Lacoste always used to say, elegance is victory. So that's why we are very proud to have this new partnership. It illustrates, as well, the footprint of the brand, very international and very strong in Asia, and maybe to focus a bit more on Lacoste in Korea, I will hand over the floor to Mr. Lee, who is the CEO of Lacoste in Korea. Cristie, sorry I didn't see you. I thought you had disappeared, so I was like, I cannot mention her because she's not here. Thanks for being with us and thanks for some time in your prep. SENHYO LEE: I am Senhyo Lee, CEO for Lacoste Korea, and today I'm very proud to have this opportunity. As was already explained about Lacoste and golf, Lacoste being in golf, I would like to explain Lacoste and golf in Korea. Lacoste has started this business 30 years ago, 1985, and it started from the golf wear, and now the Lacoste product line has quite a variety, so the men's and also women's wear, shoes, and also the leather goods and lots of product categories, and Korean customers love the Lacoste brand and products, and it becomes all of the most popular lovely brand in Korean market thanks to the brand's value and heritage and also the dominance, the product line with the unique coloring and strong sporting concept. Concerning the golf, actually all of you already know that Korea cannot just separate from the golf, especially the ladies golf. Actually the golf is one of the most popular and strong sports in Korea, so I'm here to speak about the golf and also the players, and the game in the field, and also local ladies' tournaments. However, as they also love to enjoy high-level tournaments, many Koreans watch the LPGA tournaments through TV and show the news about the game and also players through internet and magazines and newspapers. For this reason, LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship, which is a unique LPGA Tour game in territory will be really a good opportunity for all Koreans to enjoy high-level golf in our territory. So considering these environments, it's quite a thrill for me to have the partnership with the Lacoste and LPGA in Korea. So from this year, Lacoste will be the official and exclusive clothing partner of the KEB Hana Bank Championship, so I believe this collaboration will generate the highest synergy. The Evian Championship is the best collaboration between Lacoste and the LPGA in Europe. KEB Hana Bank Championship will be the other good collaboration case in not only Korea but Asia. So we are going to prepare lots of local activities, so as the CEO of Korea Lacoste, I will do my best to follow this partnership. We'll look to all the players in the Evian Championship in this week, especially Lacoste players and Korean players. I hope to see you all next month in Korea. Thank you. JACQUES BUNGERT: I think I'm going to hand over to you. I just wanted to say that we are very proud that you chose the Evian Championship platform to announce this partnership, and I think it illustrates very well what we mean when we talk about family sponsors at the Evian Championship, because this is the place where people meet, get to know each other, and I think also the encounter between the LPGA, the players, Korea obviously and Lacoste is something we are very proud of because it took place here, and that's why, as well, as Franck mentioned earlier, it's important because we're going to have a link in Korea next year. Thanks to our friends at Lacoste and thanks to you, we will have a pre-qualifier in Korea for the Evian Championship, as well as in America, so we're going to have two players coming Asia, from the continent, being qualified for this event. So it's really interesting to see the unification between our organisation and the close link because we share the same values. So congratulations, and good luck for your tournament. HEATHER DALY DONOFRIO: On behalf of the LPGA and the KEB Hana Bank Championship, we're excited about the new partnership with Lacoste. As Jacques said, Lacoste has been a longtime partner here at the Evian Championship and really is part of the event and definitely a big part of the family, and it's exciting that you're now taking that relationship to another one of our premier events in Korea. So good luck, and thank you. I think, again, it just sort of demonstrates at the LPGA we've had a lot of good success when a company is involved with our events and great promoters and sponsors that they want to do more with the LPGA, and here's another great example of that. Thank you. JACQUES BUNGERT: And last but not least, the key words from the actress and the champion, Cristie, probably, some words. CRISTIE KERR: Actress? Am I acting? Two of my pro-am partners are here at this press conference, so that's pretty cool, but we're so excited at Lacoste to be partnered with the KEB Hana Bank Championship. It's amazing to see the brand grow globally and golf growing globally, and it's just great for Lacoste to be associated with great tournaments like the Evian Championship and the tournament in Korea. I've been a part of the Lacoste brand for a very long time, and it has just absolutely exploded in America, and it's not only a fashion brand but a sport brand, and I'm very excited to get the new collection for this week that you'll see the players wearing. I hope you enjoy it, and it's going to get a lot of buzz. It's really cool to be a part of the brand and playing a tournament like this. JACQUES BUNGERT: Thank you, Cristie. I think it's great news for golf. By the way I just wanted to take this opportunity because Franck wanted to make the surprise, but as you probably mentioned earlier and you saw it, we have also a new sponsor that might be one day one of your partners there, which is American Express Travel, so we're talking about America, talking about travel, this is a very nice match. So everything is all set for a great event. Thank you very much, and good luck. You know that all our teams and stewards here are really ready to help you, to make you benefit from the experience here if it's needed. Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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