The Padel fever is rising in the UK this summer with an exciting new collaboration between rising Padel club operator Soul Padel, sports retail giant Decathlon, and leading court provider PADEL1969.
A Promising Partnership
Soul Padel’s collaborations aim to propel the growth of Padel across the UK through a series of pop-up summer festivals, top-notch facilities, and a shared vision for the sport’s future. The pop-ups are a three-month celebration of the sport titled “The Summer Padel Festival,” which will introduce Padel to local communities throughout the British nation.
Soul Padel‘s founder and CEO, Mark Hewlett, is at the heart of this padel rush, whose ambitions for the sport’s growth are lofty. “No one company is going to make Padel successful on its own,” Hewlett remarks in an interview recently conducted with our team. “It needs the help of partners, and deep collaborations like this are going to be more and more important.”
The seeds of this alliance were planted in late 2023 when Soul Padel’s founder and CEO, Mark Hewlett, first crossed paths with PADEL1969‘s founder and CEO, Atte Suominen. Their shared passion for Padel bloomed into a natural business relationship, with both parties hoping to take leading strides in growing the sport.
I see Padel as an ecosystem, and it’s the collective power of that ecosystem that will make Padel hugely successful.
Mark Hewlett, interview with PADEL1969 on May 2024
Courts Built to Outlive Us All
Powering the infrastructure behind the scenes is PADEL1969‘s hallmark “ONE COURT FOR LIFE®” construction philosophy. “What I want to do is invest in high-quality, tournament-standard padel courts that will last for a very long time,” explains Hewlett. “We don’t want to be spending money on repairs and maintenance; the courts have got to be built to last and provide an exceptional playing experience.”
Soul Padel’s Radical Success Strategy
Vital to ensuring a smooth experience is an open communication policy between Soul Padel and its partners. As Hewlett states, “Partnerships need transparency…more open-book and more transparent working together on elements like logistics, supply chain, and installation can help improve the cost base for each other.”
Maintaining that spirit of transparency and mutual benefit is crucial for any long-term partnership, according to Hewlett. “If both sides work in tandem and it’s a mutually beneficial relationship, most partnerships commercially should last a long time,” he advises. “My philosophy is a partner for life.”
The idea behind our partnership is more than just a supply contract. It is a very much purely a partnership.
Mark Hewlett, interview with PADEL1969 on May 2024
Securing sponsorships has been another key focus area. Soul Padel is expecting the festival to be extremely popular and is inviting businesses to be part of this exciting initiative. In the spirit of partnership and collaboration, a range of sponsorship opportunities, from presenting partnerships to court sponsorships, were open and available.
Strategic partnership with PADEL1969
The collaboration between Soul Padel and court provider PADEL1969 goes deeper than a typical supplier relationship. “Atte’s knowledge and understanding of the padel market globally was really appealing to me,” declared Hewlett. “It is very much a partnership…he understands marketing, sales tactics, and how to get sponsorship programs up and running.”
PADEL1969‘s founder, Atte Suominen, is equally enthusiastic about the Summer Festival, proudly declaring, “The summer padel pop-ups with Soul Padel and Decathlon align with our commitment to spreading the ‘Joy of Padel’.”
The collaboration with Decathlon sprouted from Hewlett’s persistent efforts as well. Having met with the brand’s UK teams just months ago to work on various Padel projects around the UK, the opportunity to work on a personal passion project seemed like the next step.
The Summer Padel Festival
The Summer Padel Festival kicks off on June 3rd, with two PADEL1969 Panoramic courts installed at both Decathlon’s Stockport and Glasgow stores. The courts will be open daily from 8 am to 8 pm, providing ample opportunity for the public to experience this thrilling racket sport.
The upcoming summer festival has a full slate of activities planned including introductory clinics led by professional coaches, youth sessions during the school holidays, and women-only sessions promoting inclusivity. Attendees will also be able to test the latest padel equipment from Decathlon’s in-house Kuikma brand, available for purchase or rent through the “try before you buy” program.
It’s all about social and fun at Padel court
For Soul Padel, partnering with an internationally respected sports brand like Decathlon represents “an incredible opportunity to bring padel to these two communities,” says Hewlett. Decathlon’s UK commercial leader, Federico Fraguela, echoes this sentiment: “Partnering with Soul Padel allows us to extend our reach and introduce Padel to new audiences.”
Looking ahead, Hewlett has grand ambitions that could take this one-of-a-kind partnership worldwide. “We’ve registered Soul Padel in Australia, so I hope our collaboration takes us down under in partnership,” he reveals.
Underpinning it all is a firm belief in Padel’s potential unifying passion across nations, with aspirations for Padel’s Olympic inclusion, which Hewlett considers an “inevitability” given the sport’s rapidly expanding global participation.
At its core, the Summer Padel Festival represents a meaningful step in Padel’s proliferation across the UK. “I see Padel as an ecosystem,” states Hewlett. “And it’s the collective power of that ecosystem that will make Padel hugely successful.”
With marquee brands and enterprising operators uniting their efforts, that “hugely successful” future for British padel could be just around the corner. The padel revolution has arrived, and this summer’s festivals may be the spark that ignites it.
Padel is from Acapulco since 1969. PADEL1969 is the largest premium Padel court manufacturer and advisory provider. We work with passion, joy, and integrity. We are the only company that is only dedicated to Padel products and services and operates worldwide. Our products are high-quality rackets and courts. Our services include market research, advisory services, and projects for new Padel clubs for investors.
