Impressions - Sports Fan Retailer - Spring 2014 - 48

The retailer also sells licensed men's, women's and children's accessories, including
backpacks, umbrellas, novelty items and more.

signature marketing events, the store
is starting to establish a rapport with
Philly athletes like Flyers left winger
Zac Rinaldo. "He has stopped by the
store on several occasions," says Eric
Castelluci, online marketing director.
"Hopefully, these opportunities will be
something we can offer more of to fans
in the near future."
Philly Team Store also made an appearance in the 2013 Wing Bowl, an
annual chicken wing-eating contest
founded in 1993 by local talk-radio hosts

Angelo Cataldi and Al Morganti as a
celebration of gluttony. The event traditionally is held on the Friday preceding
the Super Bowl.
winning the fourth quarter
In the Philadelphia market, football is
king in the licensed product game. "As
a company located outside of two Major League Baseball stadiums, baseball
does well for us, but in Philadelphia, so
far it has been the NFL [that has generated the most business]," Boucher

Philly Photo Bombs
Philadelphia is renown for its cheesesteaks and loyal, sports-crazed fans.
But did you know they love the art of the photo bomb as much as they love
their sports teams?
Well, maybe not, but one of Philly Team Store manager Robert Calabrese's
favorite stories involves the Tuesday after the Eagles clinched the 2013 NFC
East championship against the Dallas Cowboys. A customer came into the
store right after it received a shipment of NFC East Champion T-shirts. While
local TV crews were conducting live interviews with Philly Team Store staff
about the excitement surrounding the big win, Calabrese couldn't help but notice the continual photo bombs being executed by this overly enthusiastic fan.
"The reporter had a short amount of time to get these interviews done, but
this one customer was very persistent about getting himself on the news,"
Calabrese recalls. "He kept photo bombing the shot until the reporter finally
gave in and gave him an interview. As it turned out, the interview couldn't
be used because of the customer's profanity-laced tirade about how much
he hated the Dallas Cowboys."
Only in Philly.

48 Spring 2014

says. "Overall, the fastest growing area
in our markets is the NHL (National
Hockey League). It seems to have the
most dedicated fans."
Boucher also says the women's licensed
apparel sector continues to grow, as it
becomes more fashion forward and less
fan-based.
With baseball season underway -
and as the Phillies exult over the club's
recent signing of free-agent pitcher AJ
Burnett away from the cross-state rival
Pittsburgh Pirates - the Philly Team
Sports crew expects 2014 to be its best
year yet.
"Right now, we're starting our planning for fall '14," Boucher says. "For us,
the best time of year is anytime a team
makes a playoff run. Outside of that, the
fourth quarter is the best time of year."
Right now, there is a pretty even split
between the online and bricks-andmortar businesses. "I think you will always have people who, if they are able,
would like to walk into a store and get
a feel for the goods," Boucher says. "But
the ease of shopping online will continue to attract people and, because of
that, our online business is growing year
after year."
In the end, retail comes down to being a destination where your customers
can get what they need, when they need
it, from people who know their game.
"The best advice I ever received was to
be what your customer wants you to be,"
Boucher says. "They are the ones who
will tell you what products you should
carry. As retailers, you need to separate yourself from your personal likes,
dislikes and biases, and focus on what
[customers] want."
He adds: "For us, we hope to have continued success and, with a little luck,
expand into new markets in the not-sodistant future."
Michael J. Pallerino is an award-winning
writer who has written for a number of
national consumer and trade publications.
For more information or to comment on
this article, email Michael at mpallerino@
gmail.com.
SportsFan Retailer

Impressions - Sports Fan Retailer - Spring 2014

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