MLS HOPES FOR BIG KICK AT RETAIL FOR LICENSED MERCHANDISE

          SPORTING GOODS BUSINESS examines Fall '98 licensed
     soccer apparel in its SportsCast Seasons section and
     Kristina Grish reports that with World Cup attention
     increasing this year, MLS licensees "are rooting for 1998 to
     be the year that league soccer makes the retail cut." 
     Adidas Soccer Apparel Line Manager Stephen Todd: "[S]ales
     have not been what they were expected to be.  But the NFL
     and NBA had growing pains in the beginning.  Now the battle
     is to make the MLS a credible league, too."  In a sidebar,
     SGB's Marianne Bhonslay reports that from a licensing
     perspective, MLS is "making slow but steady gains."  MLS
     projects generating an estimated $65-75M at retail this
     season, up from $50M last year.  First-year licensing
     revenues at retail were about $30M.  SGB's SportsCast
     Seasons special also includes an exclusive survey of soccer
     dealers nationally, which shows that adidas and Nike "are
     the fastest growing brands among soccer retailers in terms
     of both dollar and percentage growth" (SGB, 4/15 issue).