Re-instilling the team spirit - sports licensing - Apparel Merchandising Supplement

Discount Store News, August 21, 1995 by Shari Sanders

Team logo-laden apparel was a hot retail property until labor troubles postponed play and pierced fan enthusiasm last year. The labor issues have since been extinguished or placed on the back burner, but they've singed the face of team apparel retailing, prompting questions about when and if the business will fully recover.

Sales figures compiled by the National Sporting Goods Association show burn marks. Sports-logo clothing sales totaled $2.57 billion in '94, up ever so slightly from $2.55 billion in '93. "Work stoppages in baseball and hockey had an obvious impact on consumer purchases," explains Thomas Doyle, NSGA's director of information and research. "We expect '95 to show modest growth. However, it may take another year for the market to regain momentum."

Slipping sales have driven mass merchants to re-evaluate their commitment to team apparel.

Caldor has eliminated the flashy team shop that had been positioned at the store's entrance and placed a shrunken licensed-wear selection within men's activewear. More floor space was in turn given to generic activewear from Wilson, Rawlings and Jerzees. "The sports licensing business has been really difficult for us lately," says Marc Balmuth, president of the Norwalk, Conn.-based chain. However, Caldor hasn't totally lost faith. Despite the shuttered shop, "we're going to continue with it [team-licensed goods] because we think it still has customer appeal," he says.

"Our team business suffered a bit in the first quarter of the year, but it eventually bounced back once the baseball strike ended," reports Jo Lepley, gmm, menswear and childrenswear at Canton, Mass.-based Hills. "That business is still not where it was a year ago, but it's climbing again." Lepley has also pumped up the generic mix, but plans to rely primarily on a deeper selection of micromarketed team apparel for the future.

"We're looking for great things from the NFL," adds Lepley. "We introduced some new product late last season, which we'll roll out for fall. We're also doing well with NHL, especially in hockey cities like Pittsburgh and Buffalo."

Sears fell back on padded NBA, NFL and NHL assortments when its MLB business slumped. "Our men's sports-licensed business was up in double digits this past spring," says Meg Rist, vice president, divisional merchandise manager of menswear. "We're very pleased, particularly since we're having a difficult year--as most retailers are--with MLB product.

"For fall, we're investing in team apparel with added inventory, space, new fixturing and advertising," adds Rist.

Following the NSGA show held in Chicago July 16 to 18, manufacturers say positive retailer feedback is boosting their spirits for an improved '95.

"We've gone through our ups, our downs, and now, little by little, we're seeing things moving up again," says Eddie White, general manager of team properties at Indianapolis-based Logo Athletic. "Our business relies a lot on events, and missing a World relies really hurt us. This season, we needed lots of bottom-of-the-ninth home runs and great pennant races to make fans want to go out and buy a new licensed jacket. That's exactly what's happening."

Logo Athletic's NHL business suffered from the lockout. Its NFL business was up. So was the NBA portion, but threats of a basketball strike make the coming season shaky. "If they can settle before training camp, we expect increases in NBA sales," says White, who forecasts flat overall sales for '95 add '96, with growth for '97.

To settle the score with the fans and get cash registers ringing again, the leagues are pitching marketing campaigns centered around the love of the games themselves. The 1996 Olympic Games may also give consumers a reason to dip into their wallets.

Major League Baseball Properties has the biggest hurdle to climb. The strike crippled the game, angered fans and eliminated the World Series, something that has never happened in non-war times.

Now MLBP is attempting a comeback. "People thought we were doing nothing for the future of baseball, but that's not true. We were working furiously," says Anne Occi, MLBP vice president of creative and marketing services. "We're getting back to the heart of the game with our advertising and marketing campaign, Welcome to the Show,' which targets families and their connection with baseball. The ads are real, playing up the heritage of the game and making the most of past and present heroes."

The campaign is having results, says Occi, and attendance has climbed at several ballparks. After MLBP will introduce the first product from the expansion Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

The goal of National Hockey League Enterprises is to continue to gamer interest in hockey. But a lockout last fall put the season on hold and slowed NHLE's growth plans. "After coming off an exciting Stanley Cup finals in '94, the lockout hit us and our sales ended up flat," says Brian Jennings, NHLE director of licensing, apparel, headwear and sporting goods. "We got through our labor dispute and got the season underway in mid-January ['95]. But we missed the critical Holiday ['94] selling period."