Impressions - Sports Fan Retailer - December 2014 - 24

Tailgating products are a big part of Dick's
Sporting Goods' licensed hardgoods
assortment, and will continue to be, says
Tyler Mosner, an athletic and licensed
apparel buyer for the national chain.

Popularity Polls
& Purchasing
Patterns
Various polls and studies that are
conducted among the general public can, collectively, be an accurate
barometer of licensed products sales
at the professional sports level.
For example, an October 2014 Harris Poll found that the Denver Broncos are America's favorite NFL team,
followed by the New York Giants and
the Green Bay Packers. The Dallas
Cowboys, the most popular team
in 2013, dropped to the No. 4 spot,
followed by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The list of America's 10 favorite
NFL teams, according to the recent
Harris Poll, is shown below:
■ Denver Broncos
■ New York Giants
■ Green Bay Packers
■ Dallas Cowboys
■ Pittsburgh Steelers
■ Seattle Seahawks
■ San Francisco 49ers
■ New England Patriots
■ Chicago Bears
■ New Orleans Saints
Source: The Harris Poll

24 December 2014

sports products are limited to headwear
- a large variety of Major League Baseball (MLB) hats and a limited supply of
collegiate visors. Owner Jerry Steurer says
about 75% of his licensed sports product
business is generated by the demand from
the many local youth travel baseball,
soccer, basketball, softball and lacrosse
teams that buy their own personalized
team merchandise featuring their own
team identities, logos and colors. That
customization extends to belts, pants,
hats and socks.
In the greater Washington, D.C., area
this summer, the city's headwear scene
was a figurative sea of red.
"As the Washington Nationals were
winning, everybody in the city was wearing a red Nationals hat," says Matt Godek,
president and founder, Matt Godek Rugby & Soccer Supply, Merrifield, Va. "It
goes without saying that those strong
hat sales were directly correlated to the
team's success."
In the greater Los Angeles area, MLB
hats are big sellers, as well as licensed
jerseys, according to Art Vargas, operations manager, California Pro Sports,
Harbor City, Calif. "We've been selling
licensed apparel and shirts to youth baseball teams for roughly 30 years," he says.
"And we carry the cap of every Major
League Baseball team."
Whether you are a locally owned sport-

ing goods store, regional chain or national retailer, the key to financial success is
convenient customer service and knowing
what your customers want.
"We want to be a one-stop shop for the
sports fan," Mosner says. "Ultimately,
wins and losses have the greatest effect
on sales increases and decreases from one
year to the next, though there are certainly avid fans that will come out each
year and support their team no matter
what. The difference-maker is when a
team is winning. Fans will come out in
droves to support their team by wearing
licensed merchandise. Timing the delivery of these assortments before a season begins is always the challenge, and
knowing and understanding the effects
of seasonality or 'temperature' in each
market is critical."
TAILGATING NOW A TRADITION
The concept of the game-day experience
has evolved into being as important for
fans as it has always been for players and
coaches. The retail community agrees.
"Tailgating [products are] a big part
of our licensed hardgoods assortment
and will continue to be," Mosner says.
"Tailgating is becoming a tradition in
most cities and college towns, and [is]
gaining in popularity. We already crossmerchandise licensed and non-licensed
tailgate products together in our key
doors. We do a great job attracting the
tailgate customer. A licensed chair, tent,
cooler, football and other items are essential for a serious tailgater to look the
part in the stadium parking lot or in their
back yard."
Retailers in or near collegiate markets
benefit from catering to those customers
with collegiate loyalties and affiliations,
and that can pay off in sales.
"We are very, very loyal to the [Indiana
State] Sycamores," says Brent Compton of
Pacesetter Sports, Terre Haute, Ind. "We
sell team merchandise at home football
games, men's and women's basketball
games, and baseball games in the spring.
At games, we have a captive audience and
an engaged customer."
Retailers also should remember that
SportsFan Retailer

Impressions - Sports Fan Retailer - December 2014

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