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Champion Blackhawks stay hot in hot market

The hundred-plus NHL licensees and league licensing officials gathered on the floor of the Xcel Energy Center last week were a buoyant group, and for good reason.

While the league had not closed the books on a fiscal year that ended in June, double-digit growth is expected. Combine that with a Chicago Blackhawks championship hot market that defied expectation by rivaling or exceeding sales from the team’s Stanley Cup titles in 2010 (breaking a 49-year drought) and a repeat in 2013, and you had a lot of happy people at the league’s annual licensee confab.

“As for hot markets, we’re looking at the ’Hawks [being] maybe a top three or four ever, behind the Rangers [1994], Detroit [1997] and the Blackhawks in 2010. Chicago has just gotten more fans on the escalator nationally and locally and they’ve been ascending,” said Brian Jennings, NHL executive vice president.

NHL licensees set up shop on the floor of the Xcel Energy Center.
All photo by: TERRY LEFTON / STAFF
Many on the floor tried to account for the Blackhawks’ strong performance.

Rico Industries President Cary Schack said the team’s championship boosted his NHL business 50 percent. “Chicago’s a sports-crazy town and no other team there is winning,’’ he said. “The Blackhawks players are just as recognizable there as anyone on the Bears and Bulls. And we see them re-establishing a national following — Blackhawks nation is now a national footprint.’’

MAKING THE CUT: How many less … is more? That was a question some licensees at the show were asking. A recent McKinsey Consulting study of league licensing practices suggested that reducing the number of licensees, particularly in hard goods, could result in a better overall yield for the NHL. The questions of criteria, timing and rationale for who stays and who doesn’t on the league licensee roster were being asked, but few had been briefed on specifics. Jennings said, “This is a business where both on the retail and the product side, the big are getting bigger and the small are getting more specialized. We have to wonder about one-product licensees and whether they can ever build scale. But we need to do that without killing product innovations.” Added WinCraft President John Killen, “In a mature business like this, you have to help retailers with things like infrastructure investments, which is difficult for smaller companies.’’

New licensee Buff showed off its “multifunction headwear,” which can be a scarf, a rally towel and more.
NEW JERSEY: The Adidas-owned Reebok logo has been on NHL sweaters since 2006. With that deal expiring after the 2016-17 season, the league is shopping hard for a new partner. Jennings was tight-lipped on negotiations, but industry sources said the NHL is looking for a minimum 10-year deal and that Adidas has made an offer in the wake of losing NBA uniform rights. Other interested parties, our sources tell us, include Under Armour, and a potential vertical deal with e-commerce specialist Fanatics, which has been pitching new models with the promise of better margins to every major American sports property. Look for whichever company’s logo adorns the 2016 World Cup of Hockey jerseys to be a precursor to a larger NHL jersey and apparel deal.

Sportin’ Styles’ women’s knit poncho
PLANTING THE SEEDS: Fabrique Innovations is trying to recapture the success of its Pillow Pets plush hit from a few years back with a line of gardening accessories. Among the products in its “Sporticulture” line are logoed expandable hoses, flower pots and planters, watering cans and a stencil, so your lawn can carry the same logos as the turf at your favorite team’s home field. The line ships this fall starting with NFL and collegiate licenses. Home Depot and Lowe’s are on board. … Some other items that fall into our endless “never seen a logo on that before” quest included Sportin’ Styles’ knit poncho bearing NHL indicia and Forever Collectibles’ Feetoes, sort of a Snuggie for the feet. While we have seen logoed licensed balsa wood gliders before, Fremont Die’s $24.99 foam glider that is 21.5 inches long takes this to new, er, heights. Look for availability around holiday shopping. New licensee Buff was pushing what it called “multifunctional headwear,” essentially a licensed dickie, which can be worn
The Memory Co. lets you top your Christmas tree with the Stanley Cup.
around the neck or head like a scarf or bandana or folded into a variety of toques. It can even be waved, like a rally towel. Suggested retail price is around $30.

CUP RUNNETH OVER: We’ve seen the league ease up on the once restrictive regulations surrounding licensing of the Stanley Cup. Consequently, we recently have seen licensed replica inflatable cups, Stanley Cup Bluetooth speakers and even Cup popcorn poppers. At this year’s show, The Memory Co. was showing an illuminated Stanley Cup Christmas tree topper, along with several Stanley Cup holiday ornaments. Accordingly, some of the league’s many drinkware/barware licensees wondered whether and when they’ll be able to get Stanley Cup drinking glasses approved. However, we’re told that’s a thirst that won’t be quenched. “We debated what our icon should be licensed for regularly, but to drink from the [Stanley] Cup, the thought here is that you have to suit up and win it,” said Dave McCarthy, the NHL’s vice president, consumer product marketing.

Levelwear’s Salute line of sweaters and henley shirts will sell for $75 and up.
LICENSING LINES: In team awards bestowed during the licensing show, the Blackhawks won Club Merchant of the Year, while the Dallas Stars took home Most Improved Club Merchant. … The NHL’s Jennings identified travel as a developing growth area and we continue to be impressed by Mizco’s selection and retail displays of logoed electronic accessories including power banks, Bluetooth speakers and electric chargers. … Concept Ones’s durable bags and luggage were also impressive. … The logos we saw for the Jan. 1 Winter Classic game between the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens refer to Foxboro, and not Gillette
Fremont Die’s $24.99 foam glider could give your team spirit a lift.
Stadium, as the site. Would that be different if Gillette was a league sponsor? … Testimony to Oyo Sports’ success in the Lego-like “mini-figure” game-set category is a forthcoming NHL playset with a $150 price point. We note that Germany’s Playmobil has also received an NHL license this year in the same category, with the thought being that the former will sell through sports specialty retailers, while the latter will leverage its ties to the toy aisles’ mass merchandisers.

STUFF WE LIKED: Majestic’s neon-colored Game Reflex apparel was eye-catching, fashioned from a combination of layered metallic inks, which produced a unique print. … Levelwear was showing a new high-end Salute line of subtly branded sweaters and henley shirts that will sell for $75 and up, according to national sales manager Mickey Maritan. … Among cap licensees, knit hats are still strong, regardless of the season. “The University of Hawaii buys knits from us all year and it never gets below 70 there,” laughed Jennifer Szarzynski, New Era’s senior category manager.

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