Mark Cavendish has launched a new brand – CVNDSH – that plays on his edgy reputation and tendency to swear. To make that clear, it will carry the (mostly) vowel-omitting tagline "FST AS FCK".
The first product to carry the CVNDSH brand was the Specialized Venge launched at the Giro. According to Specialized’s UK marketing manager James Booth, 350 of these bikes were available worldwide, of which just over 30 were available in the UK. Booth told BikeRadar that all the UK bikes have already been snapped up.
Booth said the brand could be rolled out to non-cycling products: "As far as future collaborations, I think they are talking to a lot of people. The obvious ones will be the partners he already has to start with, but I could see the Wiggins/Fred Perry type deal."
Cavendish, 28, who won his first senior British road race championship on Sunday, launched the brand in London on Monday night, less than a week before he starts the Tour de France with the aim of adding to his haul of 23 stage wins. The brand carries the unmistakable colour of the Tour de France green jersey that he won in 2011.
According to website Brand Republic, Cavendish said: "If people talk about Mark Cavendish the cyclist, the first thing they say is speed, so the logo had to show that. For me, the green jersey is this icon; it has been a very important colour in my career. It feels right to build on that – not just as a cyclist, with a commercial brand. I’ve never put my name to things if I don’t believe in them."
As well as his long standing relationship with Specialized, the Manx Missile has worked with component makers PRO (who released handlebars and stems carrying the Omega Pharma-QuickStep rider's name), Oakley Sunglasses and sock-specialists Defeet.
For more information see www.cvndsh.com.