MVP.com, the sporting goods e-commerce site created by
John Elway, Wayne Gretzky and Michael Jordan, officially
launched yesterday "with an inventory of more than 25,000
items," according to Al Lewis of the ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS.
The site went live at 4:30pm ET and recorded its first sale,
a pair of cross-training shoes, "shortly afterward." The
three partners formally unveiled the site at a press
conference in Atlanta yesterday. Elway: "Critics say,
`Well, you think you will be successful because you have a
lot of high-visibility athletes involved.' Well, we know
that's not true. But we also know that we want to be the
best." Lewis writes that although MVP.com "boasts that it
has the best management and marketing teams, the best
customer support and even the best merchandise, ... it
doesn't boast of the best possible price." Examples include
the adidas Response Trail running shoe, which sells for
$79.99 on MVP.com and $69.99 at The Sports Authority (TSA),
as well as a Wilson NFL replica football, which sells for
$49.99 on MVP.com and $44.99 at TSA. But low prices "are
not the pitch" for the site, which "hopes to lure customers
with a unique blend of product selection and content."
Meanwhile, the company "plans to spend" $50M this year on an
ad campaign consisting of TV, radio and print ads, in
addition to an online marketing effort through AOL, Excite
and Microsoft Network (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 1/27). In
Dallas, Richard Alm writes that MVP.com will "double" its
inventory to 50,000 items "over the next few months."
Elway, on the celebrity status of the site's founders: "[It
is] something that definitely helps us on the marketing
side, especially with all the dot coms out there." MVP.com
CEO John Costello: "Our goal is to become the clear market
leader by the end of the year 2000" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS,
1/27). More Elway: "We know with our names involved we'll
be held to a different standard. Our customers will expect
a lot more out of MVP.com. We plan on delivering that"
(PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 1/27). Elway and Costello were
guests on CNBC's "Squawk Box" this morning and on CBS' "The
Early Show." On CBS, Costello acknowledged that the
athletes are "not going to answer your questions" directly
"but you can tune in and get" their insights: "You can get
Michael's insight in how to pick the right equipment if
you're starting out in basketball, how to train, how to work
on your techniques. ... It's not going to be online chat but
the insight is going to be there." Gretzky, shown in a
previously-taped interview, said, "We can be as involved as
we want to be because it's a non-endorsement. This is an
equity position we have, we've invested our own dollars, our
own hard-earned dollars, into this company" (CBS, 1/27).
Elway said that MVP.com "won't interfere with endorsements
the athletes already have." While the athletes will give
advice on the site, they won't endorse a particular product
(AP, 1/27). MVP.com took out a full-page ad in the Sports
section of USA Today that reads: "A Sports Store With People
Who Know A Few Things About The Subject" (THE DAILY).
PIECE OF THE PIE: In Denver, Mike Littwin calls the
site a "pointless clique" and writes on the notion of Elway,
Gretzky and Jordan "giving back" something to society.
Littwin: "Now, you might wonder, as I do, what exactly they
were giving back because, on the face of it, it looks a lot
more like what we call `taking' rather than what we call
`giving'" (ROCKY MTN NEWS, 1/27). In Baltimore, Ken
Rosenthal writes that MVP.com "is nothing more than a
blatant attempt by the Three Entrepreneurs to grab their
share of the $150 billion sporting-goods market" (SUN,
1/27). In Chicago, Jay Mariotti, asks, "What is so wrong
about Michael Jordan ... combining his profile and portfolio
with those of John Elway and Wayne Gretzky in a promising e-
commerce gig? What are they supposed to do, fade away?"
(SUN-TIMES, 1/27). In N.Y., William Rhoden notes the
"oddest element" about yesterday's press conference in
Atlanta was that the NFL "would allow these interlopers from
other sports on its premises" (N.Y. TIMES, 1/27).
