MLB licensees preparing for All-Star Game festivities in San Diego report brisk sales of top shelf-items, including Majestic's Home Run Derby jersey and New Era caps. MLB Senior VP/Consumer Products Steve Armus said those licensees sold out of their initial shipments early and have been chasing incremental business for more than 10 days. The retail footprint in San Diego includes a store with All-Star Game merchandise on the flight deck of the USS Midway and a 35,000-square-foot store at Fan Fest, operated by Aramark for the 18th consecutive year. Aramark Sports & Entertainment President Carl Mittelman said the FanFest store will carry items from many licensees, including Majestic, New Era, Nike, Outerstuff, G III and '47 Brand. The store will carry more than 1,000 styles of apparel, he said. There will also be a section for Star Wars/MLB merchandise, which Armus called "our most successful cross-license ever." Appearances by Star Wars characters are planned. New Era, which is anticipating its best All-Star Game sales total ever, will have a 4,800-square-foot shop in the MLB store, offering a wide variety of customizing options. Fans also will be able to customize jerseys, balls, bats, socks and trading cards. Similar to its "Style Lounge" at Super Bowl 50, New Era is looking to amp up its cool factor off-field with a "Pool House" lounge at the Palomar hotel. "We're all looking to make baseball cooler and engage a younger audience," said New Era Dir of Entertainment Marketing & PR Piper McCoy. "A big part of that is generating social chatter around big events."
