Tigers See Uptick In Merchandise Sales; MLB Looks To Crack Down On Counterfeiters

The Tigers have seen a “significant surge in merchandise sales in the past week and are outselling" the Giants, according to a SportsOneSource industry report cited by Richard Burr of the DETROIT NEWS. SportsOneSource found that the Tigers are No. 2 in MLB merchandise market share at 11% "during the week ended Wednesday.” The Yankees “finished No. 1" with nearly 33%, and the Giants were No. 3 at 7.2%. The Tigers' share of sales reflects an 85% "surge compared with the same week a year ago,” when the Tigers already had been eliminated by the Rangers in the ALCS. By contrast, the Giants experienced a 227% "explosion in market share, as the team did not reach the '11 postseason. However, the Tigers “haven't been as dominant in sales compared with other teams during the past month of the playoffs as they were last year.” SportsOneSource found that the Tigers in the past month “are No. 3 in market share" at 6.2%. The Nationals were No. 2 at 7.9%, and the Yankees' 35.4% topped the list. Meanwhile, Burr notes the Detroit Build-A-Bear Workshop is “selling a Detroit Tigers Bear” (DETROIT NEWS, 10/25).

KEEPING IT REAL: MLB Properties Senior VP & General Counsel Ethan Orlinsky said that staff on the streets around Comerica Park and in local retail shops will be "on the lookout for counterfeit merchandise.” Orlinsky said, "We will be in the marketplace undercover working with local authorities. We ramp up our efforts (during the playoffs). Counterfeiters are trying to prey on the hot market." A St. Louis Post-Dispatch report prior to last year's World Series showed MLB has “seized more than 6 million nonlicensed products in the past decade as part of 5,000 raids or other enforcement actions.” Orlinsky said that T-shirts, caps and jerseys are the “most common counterfeit items produced and sold.” The gear, often “of inferior quality, is usually cheaply produced overseas.” Orlinsky estimated that Detroit will “see a few hundred items seized” (CRAINSDETROIT.com, 10/22).