The Valkyries and Rakuten announced a partnership naming Rakuten a founding partner and the official shopping rewards partner of the franchise. Rakuten will be the presenting partner of the player’s tunnel walk-ins, which will be titled, “Rakuten Arrivals,” giving players a platform to express their style and support brands about which they are passionate. Rakuten will provide fans with exclusive merchandise opportunities and cash back offers. Fans will have the chance to get 10% cash back when purchasing the newest Valkyries gear every game through Rakuten both in-store and online as part of Rakuten’s presenting sponsorship of “Latest Looks” (Valkyries). WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY’s Kanika Talwar reported the Rakuten Arrivals will be the brand’s “first space to create visibility for the player arrivals tunnel -- which has become a major cultural moment within basketball.” Later in the season, Rakuten and Valkyries are “set to launch an inaugural gift with purchase program for fans to receive exclusive Valkyries merchandise created by Wild Collective.” The Rakuten partnership with the WNBA team “will go beyond game day” with a community-based platform called “Ascending Stars” to help early-career women in the Bay Area with leadership development and career advancement resources and a career development summit at the Chase Center (WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY, 5/7).
Valkyries, Rakuten partner on team’s tunnel walk-ins
