Bundesliga side Schalke 04 are planning to open permanent commercial offices in the U.S. and China in 2016 with the aim of increasing the club’s popularity in the two countries and generating economic success in the long term. This is according to a news report from SportsBusiness Daily.

Schalke Marketing Dir Alexander Jobst said that the club will become the second German team after Bayern Munich to open an office in the U.S. In contrast to Bayern, which opened an office in N.Y., Schalke will collaborate with an agency.

Jobst said that the club used its winter training camp in Florida to host initial talks with potential agencies. The location of the U.S. office, he said, had not yet been determined. He added that the club has a similar plan for China in 2016.

Schalke launched a U.S.-specific online store in September. Since its launch the store has generated close to a six-figure revenue. He said that the figure has already surpassed the revenue generated by U.S.-based customers of its regular online shop over the past three years.

The Bundesliga club also opened a China-specific online shop in December. Hong Kong based company EZshopnet International Limited are the club’s official partner in the e-commerce project.

FC Schalke 04 is currently in communication with more than 1.2 million people in China through the club’s Chinese media channels.

Source: Sportsbusiness

Proofread by John Devlin