Newsmakers

Let Your Pro Show

As a smart retailer you are constantly looking for new ways to expand your market. Well, there’s a category that can do just that and the target group probably already shops in your store. The category is professional sports teams giftware and it can be big business for you.

How big? The NFL fan base is 1.7 million—about half of the country, according to a recent ESPN poll. Of that, 47% are female, 53% male. Kids ages 12-19 rate the Super Bowl as their favorite sporting event. It found that about 70% of the population over age 12 are major league sports fans. That means the chances are very good that a sports fan or someone who knows a sports fan, walks into your store every day.

“Everyone either has a favorite team or knows someone who does,” says Mark Wollin, president of Authentic Street Signs Inc.

“And almost everyone wants to show their support for that favorite team. The opportunity for gift stores to capitalize on the sports licensed market has never been better.  We’ve seen the interest in fan-related product grow steadily over the past 10 years.

“The gift retailer is in an ideal position to capture some of this market. Most sports licensed product is bought as a gift for someone else.  And since most of the sales to these customers are impulse purchases, it’s not a hard market to capitalize on.”

Authentic Street Signs Inc. is a producer of professional and college licensed products: heavy steel embossed street and parking signs, eco-friendly LED night lights, and plasma neon clocks.

Kevin Aldridge, vice president at SC Christmas, says licensed sports is the hottest category in retail right now, not just in the specialty and sports shops but in all retail.

"It does not matter if you are a hardware store or a gift shop if you do not have any licensed sports you are missing sales. The gift industry has a huge void right now, there is no big anything in the market right now. Sports is filling the void."

“The key thing to remember about pro sports items is it is an impulse buy,” says Mike Sockel, senior vice president of Team Sports America. "Sports licensing is one of the highest impulse items—these items are one of the best selling impulse items. Make the items very visible, put them out front. You’re not selling necessity, you’re selling a pull-on-your-heartstrings, emotional buy. To maximize potential—put it out there, let fans know you have it."

“Make sure you also do some of the larger items. The person you’re selling to ‘screams their team’ and may even have a ‘shrine’ to the favorite team in their home.”

Another advantage of pro sports giftware is that you have product in your store 365 days a year, reminds Kevin Draws, vice president of sales at The Memory Company (888/448-1480).

"For instance, NFL and collegiate are strong in spring; MLB has nice opening day presence to Father's Day; NHL tends to go from fall to late spring."

“We have introduced more home decor giftware. We see a trend we call ‘Homegating’ and it is growing. With the price of tickets and the effort to get to the games, many people prefer to stay home to watch games with friends. The cost of gasoline is another factor. They still want to show involvement with the team.  They want to have a game look. In an office, home, basement, ‘man cave’—they want to make the space as representative, team-oriented.”

So you’ve decided to introduce or expand your pro sports section —what should you carry? This is the part that most retailers have trouble with, says Aldridge, but it is really not that hard.

“Rule of thumb, you need to carry the teams that are in your immediate area and then realize that several teams have national following; the Yankees and Red Sox for baseball; Dallas, Green Bay and Pittsburgh for football; and Detroit and Toronto for hockey. You should consider carrying these teams in a select few items to show the availability. For all the other teams, most licensed sports companies will drop ship any team you need. Take advantage of that sports population. There are about 126 hard goods manufacturers of pro sports licensed goods. Many of these manufacturers don’t sell to mass merchants—making them perfect for gift stores, small sports stores, memorabilia and collectable stores.”

So there you have it. Whether you’re a fan or not or don’t even know much about pro sports yourself—there are plenty of people that do. Many of them already come to your store so give them another reason to drop by. Prospective customers will have a reason to come in just to see your great pro sports giftware selection. All and all, pro sports giftware could turn into a winning strategy for both of you.

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