NBA's Milwaukee Bucks President Josh Glessing Talks Uline Partnership

SPEAKER_1 (0:02)

Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio, News.

Romaine Bostick (0:07)

The start of the NBA season, just a month away, and the Milwaukee Bucks, they're gonna have a new look on the court. The team announcing a multi-year partnership with Uline, the company putting the logo of the Wisconsin-based company on the front of the Bucks jerseys. I had a chance to sit down with the president of the Bucks, Josh Glessing, to discuss the partnership and how the team is adjusting to life without the Greek freak, who of course was just traded to Miami. Take a listen.

I'm told that you've just struck a deal that goes into effect this season for Uline to be the official patch on the front of the Milwaukee Bucks uniforms.

Josh Glessing (0:42)

That's right. We could be more excited.

A month from today, we'll tip off the season on the road at Washington, and we're going to do that representing Wisconsin-based company Uline as our New Jersey patch partner. So we're going to wear them for every regular season game, every playoff game, on our practice jersey, on our summer league jerseys. They will become our biggest and largest partner, and we're incredibly excited to announce that today.

Romaine Bostick (1:04)

You've had a relationship with Uline for a while. I mean, they've been involved, obviously, in the Bucks stadium. Give me a sense here as to what change is beyond just the patch.

Josh Glessing (1:14)

Yeah, it's elevating the platform. It's continuing to show up on behalf of our employees, on behalf of within the community.

These partnerships where you have a relationship, they're the best. We get a running to start. We know exactly how to work together. We know how to communicate. We care deeply about their employees. We care deeply about our fans as do they. My sister works at Uline. So the opportunity for us to elevate everything we're doing is incredible.

Romaine Bostick (1:41)

I do have to ask you though, I mean, when I think about, I mean, your past partnership was with Motorola, pretty well-known brand. You've had relationships with companies like Harley-Davidson. These are very consumer focused brands. Uline is more B2B.

So, what's the appeal for, I guess, just the average fan that comes into that stadium? Why do they need to know what Uline is?

Josh Glessing (2:02)

Yeah, I'd say they have a massive business to business presence, but they've also got a really meaningful B2C business as well. They are the global leader in packaging, shipping, industrial materials and packaging.

I, as a consumer, leverage the 900-page magazine. Wisconsin is home of two of the great, great magazines of my lifetime. One, as a kid, the East Bay Magazine.

Romaine Bostick (2:30)

Do you remember that?

Josh Glessing (2:31)

That's Wausau, Wisconsin. And now Uline, a different phase of my life, maybe less sneakers today for me, but I've got a home, and there's so much that Uline offers in the 900-page catalog.

Romaine Bostick (2:43)

And this is more than just homegrown. I mean, this company is headquartered, maybe like a 20-minute drive from your stadium. I've seen some of the other deals that you've had, Sargento, Jet One. These are all Wisconsin companies.

Is this a deliberate choice to keep a lot of those sponsorships and relationships local?

Josh Glessing (2:59)

Yeah, we'd like to. And if you don't mind, let's show this for the first time. Absolutely. When we think about our partners, for us, win fan community. We want to obviously win on the court. We want to take great care of our fans, and we want to give back to the community. And we're able to do that with companies all over the world, and we do that with companies all over the world, those that are headquartered in other countries. We've got a partner, Velo, that's a German based company, but they have a large manufacturing presence in Wisconsin.

But when we think about employees, employee engagement, and that's something that Liz Uline cares deeply about, being able to show up in the community together, those local home grown companies just gives you a different platform to do that. And it's a great opportunity we have.

Romaine Bostick (3:46)

Well, talk to me a little bit about the economics. Have you disclosed actually what the value of this deal is with Uline?

Josh Glessing (3:53)

We have not. What I'll say about it's our largest patch deal to date.

We're incredibly excited.

Romaine Bostick (3:58)

So it's bigger than the Motorola deal?

Josh Glessing (3:59)

It's bigger than the Motorola deal.

We're excited about it. It's more than just the patch on the jerseys. We also activate in the arena in different ways as well. And we continue to grow and expand on how you see the Uline brand, whether you're in the arena or you're watching at home on TV.