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October 29, 2012ISSUE 1244
The Weekly Digital Magazine for the Sporting Goods Industry
2 SGBWeekly.com | OCTOBER 29, 2012
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OCTOBER 29, 2012 | SGBWeekly.com 3
Copyright 2012 SportsOneSource, LLC. All rights reserved. The opinions expressed by writers and contributors to SGB WEEKLY are not necessarily those of the editors or publishers. SGB WEEKLY is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or artwork. Articles appearing in SGB WEEKLY may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the express permission of the publisher. SGB WEEKLY is published weekly by SportsOneSource, LLC, 2151 Hawkins Street, Suite 200, Charlotte, NC 28203; 704.987.3450. Send address changes to SGB WEEKLY , 2151 Hawkins Street, Suite 200, Charlotte, NC 28203; 704.987.3450
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The Weekly Digital Magazine for the Sporting Goods Industry
OCTOBER 29, 2012ISSUE 1244
ON THE COVER: Fashion is helping drive sales in fan apparel and headwear. G-III Kickoff Lace-Up Tee with distressed screen print modeled by actress Alyssa Milano
NEWS 4 BY THE NUMBERS ICONIX Acquires Umbro from Nike 6 BURTON Unveils Major Brand Realignment HEELYS Agrees to Cash Buyout 8 MOVERS & SHAKERS VF CORP. Q3 Earnings Climb 9 OUTERBIKE Marks Third Year of Growth
SGBW INTERVIEW
10 LEO KANE SVP of Consumer Products, National Football League
FEATURES
14 FASHION CLICKING FOR FAN APPAREL 20 A BRAND IS BORN - The Brooklyn Nets
DEPARTMENTS
22 JOB CLASSIFIEDS
10
BY THE NUMBERS
23.5%Under Armour, Inc. reported revenues jumped 23.5 percent in the third quarter to $575.2 million, up from $465.6 million in the year-ago period. Net income increased 24.5 percent in the third quarter of 2012 to $57.3 million, or 54 cents a share, compared with $46.0 million, or 44 cents, in the same period last year.
7%Jarden Corp.’s Outdoor Solutions segment reported sales of $657.6 million in the third quarter ended September 30, down 7.0 percent from the year-ago period as sales by its snowsports brands declined as expected in the wake of last winter’s disappointing weather. The third quarter represents the biggest sales period for Jarden's snow sports brands, which include K2, Marker, Marmot and Volkl.
85.1%Puma SE reported that consolidated net earnings fell by 85.1 percent to €12.2 million ($15 mm) as a consequence of continued pressure on the gross profit margin, increased expenditures and special items in particular. Earnings per share therefore fell to €0.81 ($1.01) per share. The company said that third quarter consolidated sales grew by 6.0 percent in euro terms and by 0.5 percent currency-adjusted to €892.2 million ($1.12 bn).
32.5%Skechers USA, Inc. said that earnings in the third quarter climbed 32.5 percent to $11 million, or 22 cents a share, from $8.3 million, or 17 cents, a year ago. Sales during the third quarter improved 4.2 percent to $429.4 million, compared to $412.2 million in the third quarter of 2011, led by strength in its domestic wholesale division, company-owned retail stores and international distributor business.
$1.22 B ILL IONHanesBrands reported net sales for the third quarter ended September 29 totaled $1.22 billion, up from $1.19 billion a year ago. Net sales for Q3 increased three percent, earnings per diluted share for continuing operations increased 31 percent to $1.11, and free cash flow totaled $287 million.
NEWS
4 SGBWeekly.com | OCTOBER 29, 2012
ICONIX ACQUIRES UMBRO FROM NIKE
Iconix Brand Group, Inc. signed an agreement to acquire the Umbro brand and related intellectual property assets from Nike, Inc., for $225 million in cash. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year. Nike had acquired Umbro in 2008 $582 million.
"Umbro is a true, authentic football brand with a global loyal con-sumer fan base and we are thrilled to be adding it to our portfolio of iconic brands," said Neil Cole, CEO of Iconix. Founded in 1924, Umbro is the original global football (soccer) brand.
"It is a difficult decision to divest any business but this will en-able us to focus on our highest-potential growth opportunities," said Nike president and CEO Mark Parker. "Umbro has a great heritage, but ultimately, as our category strategy has evolved, we believe Nike Football can serve the needs of footballers both on and off the pitch."
Iconix owns 29 consumer brands in the fashion, athletic, elec-tronic, entertainment and home industries. With this acquisition the company will generate about $13 billion in retail sales globally, with over $2.5 billion from its athletic brands, which also include Starter and Danskin. This is Iconix's second deal with Nike: it purchased the Starter brand from them in 2007 and Starter has flourished under Iconix leadership.
"Umbro is an exciting acquisition with more than 30 licensees in over 100 countries with a devout following. We look forward to work-ing with our international partners to maintain and expand upon the rich heritage of the brand," Cole added. Today Umbro combines its British heritage with a modern football lifestyle to create iconic sports apparel and footwear. Details of the transaction will be discussed at the company's third quarter earnings conference Tuesday, October 30.
OCTOBER 29, 2012 | SGBWeekly.com 5
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6 SGBWeekly.com | OCTOBER 29, 2012
NEWS
BURTON UNVEILS MAJOR BRAND REALIGNMENT
Burton Snowboards will phase out three snowboard brands by the end of next year, stop making surf apparel under its Analog brand, and focus its Gravis brand exclusively on Asia, all part of CEO and founder Jake Burton’s efforts to refocus the company on its core strengths. Burton said the reorganization is designed to better position the company, its retail partners and stakehold-ers for the future. The current family of brands includes Analog, Gravis, RED, anon, Foursquare, Forum, Special Blend and Channel Islands.
Over the next year, Analog will return to its roots of being a pure snowboarding brand based at its original home in Burlington, VT. Gravis will ultimately move its headquarters to Tokyo, Japan and will be solely distributed in Asian markets selling lifestyle shoes and bags. Gravis was estab-lished in 1998 as the company’s first independent lifestyle brand, and since then, Asia has been by far its most successful region. In a move that Burton has been planning for several years, they will start developing protective headwear under the anon brand name. Burton will continue to offer its Red helmets on a limited basis, but the bulk of helmet and optics product lines will be combined under the anon brand.
Burton announced it will transition out of its Program brands (Foursquare, Forum and Special Blend), which were purchased in 2004 with the intent to keep snowboard companies in the hands of snowboarders. Burton has supported these brands for eight years and will continue to support them over the next year through warranty service, dealer support, marketing and inven-tory. The company will exit out of The Program brands in winter 2014. Finally, Channel Islands, which was acquired by Burton in 2006, will be unaffected and will continue to design, develop and manufacture surf hardgoods products in Carpinteria, CA.
During a company-wide meeting at its headquarters in Burlington, VT, Burton Founder and CEO Jake Burton said the new structure will allow Burton to focus on what it does best: make and support products that set the bar for snowboarding development and further advance the sport and lifestyle. “Burton has experienced several years of income growth since the recession and paid out bonuses to employees over the last two years,” he said. “That said, the economy has a voice of its own that we all have to listen to, and the message is clear: do what you do best and focus purely on it. In our case, that means to narrow our focus to the sport and lifestyle that got us here - snowboarding.”
HEELYS AGREES TO CASH BUYOUT
Heelys, Inc. and The Evergreen Group Ventures, LLC reached an “asset purchase agreement,” and an affiliate of Evergreen will acquire operating assets and assume oper-ating liabilities of Heelys and its sub-sidiaries for $13.9 million in cash.
"Heelys is an iconic brand rec-ognized around the world for its innovative skate shoes," said Jim Wagner of Evergreen Group. “I've seen the joy these shoes bring to kids of all ages… it's truly magical, and we are excited to build on that foundation with product innovation, licenses and creative partnerships.”
The transaction was unanimously approved by Heelys' board of direc-tors. Heelys' cash and marketable securities, which totaled approxi-mately $58.2 million as of June 30, 2012, will not be included in the as-sets to be acquired in the transac-tion. The purchase agreement con-tains a 30-day period (the "go-shop period") during which the company will solicit alternative proposals.
Heelys CEO Tom Hansen
8 SGBWeekly.com | OCTOBER 29, 2012
MOVERS & SHAKERS
The administrative board of Puma SE unanimously elected Jean-François Palus as chairman, effective December 1, 2012, following the announcement of Jochen Zeitz's resignation on October 15.
Vibram USA’s Italian parent company Vibram S.p.A., appointed Antonio Dus as advisor to president and managing director Marco Bramani. Dus will focus on developing new strategies for efficiently managing and sustaining worldwide growth.
DVS Shoe Company, the skate shoe brand acquired by Sequential Brands Group in a bankruptcy auction in June, announced its continued partnership with elite athlete Brian Deegan, an icon in the motorsports arena.
Jockey International Inc. appointed Byron Norfleet as president and chief operating officer, succeeding Ed Emma, who will become consultant to the CEO. The change becomes effective December 14.
REI promoted Brian Unmacht to chief operating officer, expanding his role to oversee retail, e-commerce, merchandising, private brands, information technology and supply chain.
SylvanSport hired S. Peyre Cleveland at its new sales manager and Patrick Kennedy as operations manager. The newly created positions will support overall growth and new product launches in 2013.
Patagonia, Inc. announced the newest members of its ambassador team - surfers Joe Curren, Lea Brassy, Devon Howard, Kyle Thiermann, and kiteboarder Julien Fillion.
New Balance announced the appointment of Lamar Lee as team uniform brand manager. Lamar will be responsible for overseeing the design, development, manufacturing and sales of New Balance's performance baseball/team uniform product line.
Shoe Carnival, Inc. announced Mark Lemond is retiring for health reasons from his positions as president, chief executive officer and director effective October 27. Clifton Sifford, currently executive vice president, general merchandise manager, will succeed Lemond as president and chief executive officer on a permanent basis, and will also have the title of chief merchandising officer.
NEWS
VF CORP. Q3 EARNINGS CLIMB
VF Corp.’s earnings in the third quarter rose 26.8 percent to $381.3 million, or $3.42 a share. Revenues rose 14.4 percent to $3.15 billion, reflecting the September 2011 Timberland ac-quisition. Organic revenue growth in the quarter was 2 percent (6 percent in constant dollars) driven by continued strength in the Outdoor & Action Sports, international and direct-to-consumer businesses.
The bottom line was aided by gross margin improvement of 140 basis points to a record 46.7 percent, with improvements in nearly every business. The higher gross margin also reflects the continued shift in its revenue mix towards higher margin busi-nesses.
The results came in slightly better than Wall Street expected, prompting the company to lift its guidance for the year. The com-pany now expects full year adjusted earnings per share to be approximately $9.60 per share, up 10 cents from the $9.50 guidance provided on July 19.
In its largest segment, the Outdoor & Action Sports Coali-tion’s sales rose 28.9 percent to $1.85 billion with organic rev-enue growth of 6 percent, or 11 percent in constant dollars. The addition of the Timberland and SmartWool brands contrib-uted $499 million to revenues in the quarter.
The North Face saw sales grow 5 percent in the quarter, or 8 percent in constant dollars. The North Face’s direct-to-consumer business was ahead 10 percent. At Vans, global revenues in the third quarter were up 21 percent, or 26 percent excluding the impact of foreign currency. In the Americas, sales grew in at a high single-digit rate for The North Face and in the mid-teens for Vans.
On a conference call with analysts, Steve Rendle, VF’s VP, group president-Outdoor & Action Sports Americas, noted that the brand faced difficult comparisons against a 22 percent growth rate in the year-ago quarter. Results also reflect some movement in its orders booked from the third into the fourth quarter as wholesale orders moved closer to need based on last year's warm winter.
“Coupled with challenging conditions in Europe we're actually quite pleased with our results,” said Rendle. “As we noted last quarter, the fall order book is up low double-digits on a global basis and is driven primarily by North America and Asia. We have great confidence that the business will accelerate in the fourth quarter to a mid-teen constant dollar revenue growth rate posi-tioning us to end the year strongly.”
OCTOBER 29, 2012 | SGBWeekly.com 9
tion in Moab. The event features several days of guided rides and clinics, discounts on gear from exhibitors, shuttles, movie screen-ings, parties and networking opportunities, all while demo-ing next year’s bikes and riding with friends.
“The unfiltered direct access to end consumers and actual users is awesome,” said Andy Russell, director of national accounts for American Rec, one of the few camping and accessory specific suppliers on site. “It’s great to engage active customers face to face and hear from them firsthand.” American Rec worked with its local Moab retailer Gear Heads Outdoor Store to provide discounts at the event.
The show was capped for 1,000 people this year, topping out at 1,024, with riders from more than 42 states, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Singapore and the UK. The goal is to keep the bike-to-person ratio 1:1 or higher, so that people don’t have to wait to take out the bikes they want to test. Outerbike is also committed to supporting cy-cling non-profits, including the Moab Trails Alliance, Moab Trail Mix, and International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA). In 2013, look for more diverse exhibitors, aiming to hone in on the event’s targeted and eager demographic.
“If you want to put your brand in front of a group of mountain bike enthusiasts who are willing to invest time and money in an activity they love, Outerbike is a great opportunity to do that,” said Scott Kaier, PR manager for attending American Rec brands Kelty, Sierra Designs and Ultimate Direction. “We’re already making plans to re-turn next year and are looking into increasing our exhibitor space while finding ways to engage attendees with fun activities and more products. Kelty, Sierra Designs and Ultimate Direction were so well received, we want to have an even bigger presence next year.” ■
M
OUTERBIKE ore than 1000 mountain bike consumers and industry per-sonnel converged on the Bar M public lands trailhead in
Moab, UT, October 2-7 for the third annual Outerbike - a chance for the public to test and see many of next year’s bicycle models and new products from select manufacturers. And word on the dusty aisles is that the event is well worth peoples’ time, as suppliers rang-ing from the usual Giant and Specialized to Native Eyewear, Sierra Designs/Kelty, Club Ride, Osprey, Clif Bar, Skratch Labs, G-Form and other performance and accessory manufacturers came together for several days of riding, demos and networking.
The fall event is the brainchild of Moab’s Western Spirit Cycling, a national cycling touring company that was founded in 1989 and re-vamped by bicycle industry veteran Ashley Korenblat in 1997. Outer-bike coordinator Sean Hazell is the man on the ground at the event, a full-time employee of Western Spirit and year-round Moab local.
“Pretty much what we hear from people is that they want to go bigger,” Hazell said about his participating exhibitors. “We are help-ing make Moab the premier mountain biking destination again.” Hazell said that the event is a place for manufacturers to gain very targeted exposure and to reach trendsetters, people who influence others in their towns and riding groups.
The original vision of Outerbike was to attract people who are in the market to buy a high-end bike. Not very many industries ask people to spend upwards of $5,000 on a product they have never ridden, at least not in their size or with their preferred specs, and Outerbike provided a solution for that. What it has morphed into is a specialized consumer bike show and the opportunity for people from around North America to take an inexpensive mountain biking vaca-
MARKS THIRD YEAR OF GROWTHBy Aaron Bible
10 SGBWeekly.com | OCTOBER 29, 2012
HOW WOULD YOU GAUGE THE SUCCESS OF THE
NEW LICENSING DEAL? Early on we’re very hap-py with our new partners, and although they didn’t start selling product until April first, the deal was announced in October 2010. We’ve been spending a lot of time with them and we know the time, effort and energy they’ve brought to that. I would say at this point we’re giving very high marks.
WITH A LITTLE MORE HINDSIGHT, WHY WERE CHANGES MADE AROUND THE LICENSING AR-
RANGEMENT? You can look at that a couple of ways. I think Reebok was the right part-ner back in 2000 and they did a lot of good things. I would certainly say when you look at 2000 through the 2011 season, Reebok was extremely successful working with us to make wearing a jersey to an NFL game almost mandatory.
But 12 years later it made much more sense to have category leaders in every cat-egory. We also no longer have sub-licensees. We learned it’s important for us to have the direct relationship with our partners. So we were very comfortable to have Nike focused
on our uniforms. The jersey will always be iconic and Nike is laser focused on that.
WHAT’S THE MOST NOTICEABLE CHANGE FOR
FANS? I think with the new partners we have, we can begin to transform the look of foot-ball and have fans thinking about wearing their NFL product every day of the week. That’s what we’re really trying to do. There’s different ways to do it and they’re helping us to make the product at the cutting edge of fashion. People can be early adopters and can be fashion leaders and still wear NFL licensed product.
WHAT HAS IMPRESSED YOU ABOUT NIKE IN THE
LAUNCH? Last summer, Nike brought in retail-ers from all across the country to New York City and shared their vision of what it was go-ing to mean to be a partner of the NFL. Then at Draft, the elevated presence they had when they introduced the new jerseys was incred-ible. Finally, what they did on Draft Night with us was incredible. When Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III got up on stage they didn’t just have a jersey that said number 1, it had
Long before Nike’s new uniforms debuted in May, the guy behind the scenes shaking the hands, doing the math, and putting out all the fires in the complex deal was Leo Kane. Here, Kane, the National Football League's SVP of consumer products, plays Monday Morning Quarterback in looking back at the reasons behind the deal and its early success as well as what it promises for the future.
LEOKANESVP of Consumer Products, National Football League
their name on the back. It sounds pretty sim-ple but to offer a personalized jersey to every draft pick that comes in sent a message on how important it was for us to continue to make that jersey iconic and that we were go-ing to continue to be on the cutting edge of technology and fashion.
WHAT DID NEW ERA BRING TO THE GAME? Going all the way back to our RFP process New Era really wanted to establish a sideline hat, an iconic hat for each club. If you’re a fan, you know what the official hat is and you’re start-ing to see that emerge. We’ll do other things but we’ll always stay true to the iconic look of each of our 32 clubs. New Era talks a lot about polishing that ‘diamond’ but I think that diamond will remain very consistent so that our retail partners and our clubs know what hats are going to be there and they’ll always be in stock and they can chase that business.
HOW WAS UNDER ARMOUR’S COMBINE EFFORT
RECEIVED? Under Armour had a shared vision with us on what the Combine could be and we took a big leap forward with the Combine last
By Thomas J. Ryan
SGBW INTERVIEW
OCTOBER 29, 2012 | SGBWeekly.com 11
year. You’re going to see over the next several years the shared vision that we have with Un-der Armour to drive Combine to a whole other level is going to be unprecedented and we feel very good about that relationship.
HOW DO YOUR OTHER PARTNERS FIT INTO THE MIX?
VF continues to be our partner in the mid/mass apparel sector and of course they’re the best at what they do. We did bring on ‘47 Brand because while we have a lot of fans who want a 59fifty fitted cap from New Era and that is our diamond and our sideline cap, we also knew that ‘47 remains focused on more of an unstructured hat and we wanted to make sure our fans had plenty of choices. Then we looked at G-III as an outerwear spe-cialist and they have the broadest rights in outerwear with us. Outerstuff, our exclusive kids apparel license, was a sub-license under Reebok but we feel very strongly about having that direct relationship and they’re helping us bring our whole Rush Zone to life in apparel as we move forward.
WHAT CHANGES CAN WE EXPECT IN THE YEARS
AHEAD? One area we’re focused on and we’re challenging all our partners, but especially our on-field partners, is player health and safety. We’ve got great helmet partners and we’ve got some of the best doctors in the world that are working on head protection. But padding
on any part of players is also important. Where we’ve asked Nike and others to focus is on the knees and thighs and it’s something that Nike has embraced. The way they look at that – ‘integrated protection with zero distrac-tion’ - is a great way to approach it because our players do want to play fast but we need to protect them better. And that’s something we’re going to work with Nike on to get bet-ter every year. There are always things to work on. And as you can imagine, when you change in a league the size of the NFL, there may be some hiccups. The way we address that is full disclosure and transparency as we always have with our clubs. We’ve gone out and done a survey at several levels of our clubs to just make sure we know how we can improve. And we’ll be totally upfront and hon-est and transparent with our partners about any changes coming from that.
WHAT WAS THE AIM OF THE LICENSING STRUC-TURE OVERHAUL FROM A MERCHANDISING PER-
SPECTIVE? The NFL is a premium brand and most premium brands tell a story. That it’s not just about your product hanging on a rack, it’s more about telling the story through authentic-ity. And if you look at Niketown on 57th Street in New York City, you will see what it can become when it’s really elevated. When the next Com-bine comes, you’ll see the story that Under Ar-mour tells using the imagery of athletes coming
into the NFL and the fashion-forward looks that we’ll put them in at Combine. And then what New Era is doing with Lids and their own stores is very much of an elevated story. We were probably lagging in how we merchandised our brand in the past and I think our partners have embraced our vision for the NFL.
THE NFL OPENED ITS FIRST POP-UP STORE LAST MARCH. WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THE EXPE-
RIENCE? When the Draft went to prime time three years ago, I didn’t feel like our Con-sumer Products group and our efforts at retail went with it. This year with the new partners and that launch we felt very comfortable in opening up a store to celebrate that. We were pleased with the traffic we got at the store as well as the media coverage. The store was a half-mile from Radio City so our fans that came in for Draft had a real retail opportunity. At the same time, one of the things you learn is that we’ve got limited staff and it’s a big undertaking. In most cases, we’re probably better off working with retail experts to col-laborate and bring that forward.
WHAT RETAIL INITIATIVES IS THE NFL WORKING
ON? We did a Style Lounge with the Jets last year and liked the way that worked so now we have a mobile Style Lounge. It started off in Pittsburgh in the first week of games in October and then went to Indianapolis for the
Nike and the NFL celebrated Kickoff week by highlighting 32 of the most stylish fans in the country in the first-ever Back To Football Photo Day. Representing their favorite NFL teams, the fans were chosen for the opportunity to travel to New York City to participate in a photo shoot that was seen through both Nike and the NFL’s digital channels.
12 SGBWeekly.com | OCTOBER 29, 2012
next weekend and is set to reach six to eight clubs. We think we have a way to bring in a shopping environment for women that involves better merchandising, dressing rooms and things women expect to find when they go shopping as well as unexpected perks such as a photo booth, drinks and free manicures with their team’s colors. Lids also opened a temporary store in downtown Indianapolis for the Super Bowl last year and we were blown away by the results. We’ve entered into a relationship with them for this year’s Super Bowl in New Orleans. They’re truly a national retailer and someone we can learn from. And we’ll continue to work with the Modell’s, the Foot Lockers, the Champs, the Academy’s, Wal-Mart, Kohl’s, Target - we’re going to work with the experts. We feel that our direct involvement in retail will be limited in the near future but we will find partners who share our vision.
WHAT IS THE NFL LEARNING FROM ITS RECENT ADVERTISE-MENT CAMPAIGNS AND OUT-
REACH TO WOMEN? Forty-five percent of our fans are female so it’s obviously something that’s very important to us. We have so much more growth there and the Consumer Prod-ucts team here is bringing more attention and awareness to the fact that we not only have NFL product for women, but great product that they can wear in a lot of different ways. Our collaboration with the design house Marchesa on a limited-edition collection is a good example. If we’re gong to talk about changing the look of football, our women’s platform is going to help lead that. Women will demand that we’re on the cutting edge of fashion. I think it will make us much better not only at delivering better fashion-forward product to women but we’ll get much better at being a fashion-forward leader for our men’s’ and our kids’ fans as well.
HOW IS THE FASHION SIDE PERFORMING? Our business is up significantly this year, and the headwear and the women’s business are growing the fastest. Part of the reason is we’re much more fashion forward than years past. Again, the women’s push is helping us drive that and it’s opening the eyes of the retailers and licensees that it’s not just women who want to have the latest looks in their NFL gear. I think the jersey will always be iconic and Nike has done a great job of changing the look, fit, and feel of the jersey. I do feel we were overdue for a redo of
the retail jersey product. We moved it quite a bit forward as far as fash-ion as we head into 2013. There’s nobody that’s better at cutting-edge fashion than New Era and, as we said, we established that diamond of the 59fifty on our sideline. Now we can polish that diamond and start adding some fashion twists. What we’re really excited about as we look toward later this season into next year is our relationship with Nickelodeon and what we’re going to do with the NFL Rush Zone. Whether it’s apparel or all of our hardline products, we’re going to have a very distinct story that we can tell kids. It will still be about your
favorite team but it will be sold through the lens of a kid and that’s through our role-playing game, NFL RushZone on NFL-RUSH.com, and our cartoon that we’ll be doing with Nickelodeon right after Thanksgiving.
WHAT’S WORKING ON THE HARD-
GOODS SIDE? Madden is in its 24th iteration and I think this year’s game with the new phys-ics and just the game play is the best yet. The overall video game software business has been struggling and we’re seeing high-single digit growth in its 24th year so we’re very proud of Madden NFL 13. The reality is that most of our fans enjoy our games at home on their televi-sion and you’ll see a lot of ef-fort from us across the board on
what we coined last year as ‘homegating.’ We like to say there’s all kinds of trinkets and treasures for our fans.
WHAT’S YOUR PHILOSOPHY AROUND WHAT MAKE SPORTS LICENSING WORK? Everything that we do starts grounded in the research that we do around our fans. We’re very fortunate because we’ve got NFL Fan Style, our own social media site within Consumer Products. We get great feedback from our fans on what’s important to them. At Kickoff, we also worked with Nike to bring 32 of the most fashion-forward fans representing each club from across the country to New York City for a fashion shoot and that was phenomenal. And then our market-ing group also had fans design 32 flags for each of our clubs and those graphics are being incorporated throughout all kinds of different products. It’s about listening to fans. If there’s any way for us to make our fans the hero and if our fans help us to make those products the hero, then we’ll know our fans will want them. We can never forget that they’re the reason we’re here. ■
After dressing Halle Berry, Sandra Bullock and Anne Hathaway for the Oscars, Marchesa de-signer Georgina Chapman recently partnered with the NFL to create a 'sports meets couture' limited-edition T-shirts collection. The stylish shirts, selling for $110 each, feature the Jets logo made from black Swarovski beads and pearls. The Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Redskins, New Orleans Saints, and the Baltimore Ravens will soon get their own versions. Here, Suzanne Johnson (center), the wife of Jets owner Woody Johnson who inspired the collection, and designer Chapman pose with models.
Runner’s World UKOctober 2012
“EDITOR’S CHOICE”
Engineered to Promote a Barefoot Running Experience.
Caps and jerseys still have some play with the style set. But the sports licensing world is largely being driven by true fans proud of supporting their teams...and they want style too. The broadening of options is being driven by efforts to appeal to the female fan, including items that can be worn every-day rather than just game-day.
Several licenses credited the National Football League’s efforts in the area for driving more feminine cuts and looks to the apparel side. “We are very bullish on our NFL ladies business,” said John Staton, president at College Concepts. “The NFL has done a very good job marketing to female fans on both the national and local level. We are seeing growth in our ladies business across all of the professional leagues we represent.”
The ongoing retro influence, color pops, the demand for performance and overall richer fabrics, as well as varied materials and embellishments, are all extending what’s available to fans to show off their spirit. Beyond style, fans are also showing they're willing to pay more for fit and comfort.
Jim Pisani, President, VF licensed Sports Group/Majestic, said his team has been touring stadiums asking fans what they want from licensed apparel. “Our Men's Triple Peak Tee is poised to be our next mainstream tee,” said Pisani. “Consumers told us they not only wanted lightweight, soft-hand fabrics, but they wanted us to tweak tailoring for a better looking fit. Retailers are excited about the Triple Peak because we can replenish it during hot markets."
VF also found a good response to its introduction of its First & Fashion women’s line with NFL this year, synched to the NFL's 'Its My Team' campaign. “Women told us they wanted a mix of fashion and athletic looks, which is why items like
By Thomas J. Ryan
FASHION CLICKING FOR FAN APPAREL
While far from the eighties when Starter’s satin jackets became status symbols among urban kids, fashion is helping drive sales in fan apparel and headwear.
VF/Majestic Big Leaguer Raglan Tee MSRP $32
VF/Majestic Gameday Gal IV Long Sleeve Top. MSRP $36
TREND ALERT
OCTOBER 29, 2012 | SGBWeekly.com 15
our Draft Me top sell through quickly," said Pisani. “Comfortable and stylish fabrics such as Heathers and Tri-blends continue to be hot across all leagues.” Spring 2013, MLB will be rolling out an Americana-inspired line that combines lightweight raglan silhouettes with soft-hand inks and retro graphics, added Pisani.
On the headwear side, Brain Radko, senior design manager, headwear, New Era, said headwear trends are being impacted by two influences that are “pretty drastically different.”
First is a new take on old-school collegiate styling. “True to the season you will be seeing Melton wools, plaids, as well as seasonal applications including chenille, felt appliques and leathers,” said Radko. “Staying true to the nostalgia, we have used traditional team logo marks paired with established dates and retro style word marks. Many of these are paired with fabrics which will do most of the talking to the seasonal trend.”
In the "fan/fashion" category, side-logo hits are checking well for New Era in both fitted as well as 950's. Said Radko, “We're hearing that a lot of customers are trying to keep the front logos basic but they like the idea of the side logo hit which again, talks to a lot of the retro styling.”
Strap backs (instead of snapbacks) and knits are also a key component to the season. Added Radko, “Knits are absolutely killing it across all fans as well as fashion retailers. As with the cap category, retro and vintage styling is the key to success in this category.”
The second key influence is technical looking materials and colors are also playing a key role with its core customer. “Nylons, ballistic nylons, mesh, reflective materials are all playing large parts
in our product line,” said Radko. “Color is also making a comeback in a big way. Although many of the styles are grounded in a neutral (gray or black) pop bright
colors are going to be hitting retailers hard. Pattern is also becoming more relevant to the season. Geometric
and tonal patterns are another great way for added interest into the Lifestyle product line.”
On the women’s apparel side, Laura Garden, senior design manager, apparel at New Era Cap/5th & Ocean Clothing, said oversized tops are becoming prevalent.
“The silhouette is long and loose fitting, with a nice drape to the fabric,” said Garden. “The neckline of choice is the V-neck. For embellishments, the trends range from a very distressed, vintage look, to over-the-top glitter
VF/Majestic 8 Bit Throwback MSRP $26
New EraCityscape
Dog Ear Cap
New Era 9Fifty Cap
New Era NHL Chibla
16 SGBWeekly.com | OCTOBER 29, 2012
and rhinestones. Fabrics are lightweight for Spring, and moving towards fall we get into heavier fabrications such as Thermal and French Terry. We're seeing a lot of fleece hooded jackets with faux fur trim, and Sherpa lining.”
At Mitchell & Ness Nostalgia Co., Christine Rybicki, director of sales, said that in the past simply jerseys and basics (screen-printed tees and fleece) would drive the business for fan and teams shops. More recently, however, fashion silhouettes are starting to take off.
“Between Spring 2012 and the upcoming Spring 2013 line, we have seen a transition to the cut and sew styles – most of which normally were supported by the fashion accounts,” said Rybicki. “Vests ($90-$100), Cardigans ($100-$125) and Henleys ($50-$55) are among the top trends crossing over into the fan space. Customers appreciate the M&N silhouettes that no other brand offers, even if it is something a bit more fashion-focused; they are willing to pay for the uniqueness and cool factor.” Now, the majority of Mitchell & Ness
comes from cut and sew and higher price-pointed items and the basics really supplement these pieces.
As for trends, most styles that have taken inspiration from the 1990s are on fire. This also goes for authentic jerseys, lifestyle apparel and headwear. Added Rybicki, “Jerseys are trending up right now in the fashion channel and we expect that to continue to grow in 2013 and arrive in the fan space.”
Among its women’s collections, t-shirts (both screen-printed basics and cut and sew) are the strongest category for Mitchell & Ness, followed by tank tops at a close second.
One surprise success for Mitchell & Ness has been snapbacks, which launched in 2009 and took off after the overall trend developed the following year. Said Rybicki of snapbacks; ”Retailers now look to us for “that next style” they should be testing out. Sometimes it’s too early for the fan space, but it follows shortly after the fashion world gets it.”
Mitchell & Ness Apparel from L to R: Men’s NFL Time Out Pullover Hoody. MSRP $125NBA Color Blocked Tank Top – Chicago Bulls. MSRP $40Men’s NFL Free Agent Vest. MSRP $90 MLB Fastball Henley – Philadelphia Phillies. MSRP $50
Antigua Group 100% poly-ester Desert Dry™ Xtra-Lite D2XL moisture management 2x2 rib double layer mem-brane bonded long sleeve 1/2 zip pullover. MSRP $75
Ron McPherson, president and CEO for the Antigua Group, said Antigua Licensed Sports sales are significantly ahead in 2012, benefiting from the changeover in the NFL license. “Several key styles are performing at outstanding rates including the Huddle pullover for women and the Shadow pullover for men,” said McPherson. “Long sleeve, woven shirts for men including styles Esteem, Class and Focus have also been very strong.”
Dan Parenti, director of design and product development at American Needle & Red Jacket, sees a return to heritage looks – not only vintage in it's wash or finish, but replicating designs, styles, fits and fabrics from the 20's through the 50's. He also sees 80's and 90's retro looks growing in appeal while the use of patterned and more traditional men’s fabrics (herringbones, plaids, camo, flannel) is growing.
Regarding the women’s opportunity, Parenti said that while the 'vintage' look is still important, fit and comfort are front and center. Said Parenti, “The shift from traditional fan gear fits is being replaced with flattering silhouettes that may be more on trend than last year. The injection of sports apparel into everyday wardrobe is driving this."
Ty Taiste, apparel designer at ‘47 Brand, said the collections that have done well for ‘47 Brand are vintage baseball-inspired looks for men and its Indie collection, which focuses on more trendy, exaggerated hemline silhouettes. “What is working well for us is keeping pieces simple and incorporating our unmatched hand finished appliqués on heavier pieces and our signature screen printing techniques,” said Taiste. “For the future you will see us start to get into more trendy silhouettes for women with updated appliqués. For men, we will continue taking inspiration from vintage sports in addition to introducing various new fabrics to ensure that we are staying ahead of the curve in this fast paced industry.” ■
Antigua Group 60% cotton/40% polyes-ter box pattern yarn dye stripe button front woven long sleeve dress shirt. MSRP $45
American Needle Caps from L to R:U2 Cap is angel washed to create areas of heavy fading on the panels. The logo is cotton yarn embroidery with contrast sewing on the visor. Eyelets are made from the same yarn.
Gatekeeper 5-panel mesh snapback has a raised rubber print logo on the front crown. MSRP $25
Hand-Me-Down all cotton twill 6-panel unstructured cap, specially washed to create a soft hand for both the cotton and mesh backs, heavy ivory yarn contrast sewing on the seams. The logo is a cotton yarn embroidered felt appliqué. MSRP $30
American Needle is the original snapback maker. The Blockhead Snapback was made in the late 80s. MSRP $29
Antigua Group 60% cot-ton/40% polyester light grey heather fleece pull over with lace-up neckline and tipped cuff. Antigua branding on right sleeve. MSRP $45
18 SGBWeekly.com | OCTOBER 29, 2012
1. G-III Flash Hoody with a combination of burnout fabric with overdyed garment color. 1-color distressed screen print. Modeled by Actress Alyssa Milano. MSRP $70
2. Outerstuff Reebok NHL Cotton Slub V-neck Fashion tee for girls with screen printed team logo on chest and team color sleeve stripes. MSRP $25, Girls NHL tassel pom knit hat. MSRP $22
3. Outerstuff Adidas College Sideline Track Jacket with Players crew and performance structured flex Hat for boys. Track Jacket - MSRP $45; Players Crew - MSRP $22; Perfor-mance Hat MSRP $25
4. Under Armour Legacy Hoodie features weathered screen print graphics, drawstring hood, two front pockets, rib knit cuffs and waist. MSRP $75
5. Junk Food Clothing's vintage NFL New York Giants Hoodie for women is a limited-edition release from the Junk Food Originals NFL collection. MSRP $62
6. A special, limited-edition release from the Junk Food Originals NFL collection. The NFL Philadelphia Eagles Vintage Inspired 100% Cotton Kick Off Crew neck tee for Men featur-ing a relaxed fit. MSRP $34
7. Concept Sports Ladies' Crossroad Sleep Pant 60% cotton/40% polyester flannel with silver metallic thread and left leg flocking. Available in team colors. S-XL (By size). MSRP $30
8. 47 Brand Syzie Dress featuring spaghetti straps, a rounded hem and mini appliqué. Stretch jersey knit. MSRP $55
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hile much obviously depends on the outcome of actual games, the Brooklyn Nets, formerly the New Jersey Nets, are already scoring some
major wins around its rebranding efforts. The first step was the long process of smoothing rela-
tions with local residents to construct the massive Bar-clays Center in downtown Brooklyn. The next was fielding a competitive team, which they appeared to have done af-ter retaining star point guard Deron Williams along with center Brook Lopez. While missing out on the big fish, Dwight Howard, quality free agents Joe Johnson and Gerald Wallace were also added to the mix over the last year.
The team also spent considerable efforts introducing lo-cal Brooklynites to the Nets, the first professional sports team in the borough since the Dodgers left for Los Angeles in 1957.
But much of the success has been credited to the branding and merchandising side with the team's black-and-white logo praised by style dictators. Some of the slo-gans used in marketing and on t-shirts offer playful digs on the budding rivalry with the team’s more popular cross-town rival, The New York Knicks, such as “Bridges Will be Crossed.” But others pay homage to Brooklyn, such as “Hello Brooklyn,” “Brownstone Ballers,” and “No Sleep Til.”
With both the style and hype working, merchandise has been flying off the shelves at Modell’s and other local
THE BROOKLYN NETS By Thomas J. Ryan
WPhotos courtesy of the Brooklyn Nets
A BRAND IS BORN
OCTOBER 29, 2012 | SGBWeekly.com 21
retailers since the logo and product arrived in April. According to SportsScanInfo, over the four weeks through mid-October, the Brooklyn Nets had a 37 percent market share in NBA licensed products, the leading position. Last year for the same period, the New Jersey Nets had a 0.4 percent share.
The Nets Shop by Adidas has likewise been attracting crowds since opening in late September. Located on Flatbush Avenue, the 3,200-square foot store is the first team store in the history of the Nets' franchise, and Adidas' first store in Brooklyn.
Minority-team owner Jay-Z opened the venue on September 28 with the first of eight sold-out concerts.
“The new Nets team and brand represents not only a significant business opportunity for Adidas, but also the chance to connect our brand to a major sports and cultural moment at its inception,” said Chris Grancio, head of global basketball sports mar-keting, Adidas.
Grancio noted that to further help the team bond with its new commu-nity, images from Brooklyn residents decorate the walls at the Adidas store. As part of its ‘All in for Brooklyn’ campaign, the images also served as the face of online marketing around its gear.
“The Adidas Brooklyn Nets collection brings the best of Adidas performance and style to the passionate basketball fans of Brooklyn,” said Grancio. “We’re proud of our court-to-street product style and close partnerships with the Nets, Jay-Z and the NBA. Together, we’ve created authentic and fashionable on and off court gear true to the iconic culture of Brooklyn.”
Adidas also worked to develop a merchandising plan that integrated key retailers in Brooklyn; and worked with the Nets to ensure the Nets Shop by Adidas at Barclays Center offers the full depth and breadth of the line.
“The local community has really embraced the team and there’s been overwhelming excitement and buzz around the fan gear,” said Grancio. “Sales have continued to exceed expectations since the team logo debuted in April and more new product will roll out to retailers over the course of the season.” ■
1. Knit Rib All-Over Static Print Pullover Hooded Sweatshirt MSRP $702. Women's Tri-Blend Sporty Tee MSRP $403. Women's Old Feeling V-Neck Tri-Blend Tee MSRP $304. Snap Pullover Hooded Sweatshirt MSRP $705. Fitted Cap MSRP $30
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