Lakers G Kobe Bryant on Wednesday night scored 60 points in his final NBA game, but he "delivered an even better performance as a spokesman for Kobe Inc.," according to Scott Soshnick of BLOOMBERG NEWS. Bryant following the game "stood at center court draped in a towel emblazoned with the logo for Body Armor, a sports drink in which he is an investor." Bryant over the course of his a two-minute and 54-second nationally televised farewell, "thanked his fans, teammates and family." During that time, Apex Marketing Group said that he "generated more than $833,000 in media exposure" for Body Armor. Bryant "ended his on-court farewell speech by saying, 'Mamba Out,' a play on his nickname, the Black Mamba, and another commercial coup." The minute Bryant ended his speech, T-shirts bearing the phrase "were available for sale on Bryant’s official online store." A customer service agent on Thursday said that the site had "sold 'a ton.'" Fanatics said that demand for Bryant-related merchandise was up 500% on Wednesday compared with Tuesday, and by Thursday morning, sales had "almost equaled the day before" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 4/14).
TIP OF THE CAP: AEG Merchandising reported a monstrous $65 per cap tied to sales of merchandise celebrating Bryant’s final game Wednesday night at Staples Center. Total sales were $1.2M. Staples Center President Lee Zeidman said that for typical Lakers games, per caps run between $5-7. The $65 number is believed to be an arena record, according to research conducted by AEG Merchandising VP Sean Ryan. “We had an average (sales receipt) of $230 and three items in (a customer’s) bag," Ryan said. Sales were driven in part by two high-end Bryant hat styles. The New Era products featuring 18K gold and purple cashmere designs, respectively, were priced at $38,000 and $24,000. Only eight hats were made for both designs. “We have a few hats left and are hopefully finalizing sales in the next few days,” Ryan said (Don Muret, Staff Writer). Ryan said that the previous record was "set by Led Zeppelin," who sold $1M worth of merchandise in London at the O2 Arena during their reunion show in '07. ESPN.com's Darren Rovell noted the "high-end Kobe memorabilia, dubbed the '24 Collection,' was a partnership between AEG; Kobe's company, Kobe Inc.; his merchandise partner, MainGate; and the Lakers." Including online sales, AEG, Bryant, the Lakers and MainGate sold more than $2M in merchandise on Thursday, with the arena portion "being the most significant because sales don't have to be shared with the rest of the teams in the league" (ESPN.com, 4/14).
