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New MLS licensee Mitchell & Ness has launched a collection inspired by Philadelphia Union supporters group Sons of Ben, a first for the league.
Photos by: MLS / MITCHELL & NESS
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Major League Soccer’s consumer products business got a jolt from two expansion teams joining the league last year. Now, league officials are looking at an increased emphasis on lifestyle apparel as a way to continue the growth.
That — and capitalizing on early interest in additional league expansion.
“We have some really hard-core fans that are buying jerseys and spending that money, but we also want to make sure we’re providing products for the more casual fan, if you will,” said Maribeth Towers, MLS senior vice president of consumer products. “Whether it’s shirts or socks, we’ve seen a lot of new products from licensees that really are trending in the general marketplace and have gotten a ton of interest.”
MLS has added more than 20 licensees over the past two seasons, Towers said, bringing the league’s total to more than 70. So while jerseys and scarves continue to be the staple purchase items for MLS fans, a wider variety of merchandise is becoming available.
Mitchell & Ness is among those newer licensees. The company began selling MLS products last fall but expanded its product line at the start of 2016. This month, it launched a collection inspired by Philadelphia Union supporters group Sons of Ben. It’s the first time the league has licensed an official line of products for a supporters group. The line features five pieces of apparel and two hat styles.
“For supporters groups across MLS like the Sons of Ben, it’s all about passion and celebrating the sport — which is really where we see ourselves as a company fitting in as well,” said Jonathan Yuska, head of Mitchell & Ness. “When you appeal to that, I think it really resonates with fans of the clubs and league.”
For Philadelphia-based Mitchell & Ness, selling around the Union is a way to market to the company’s hometown team. The new Sons of Ben line is available only at the Union’s Talen Energy Stadium.
But Yuska said the brand has been pleased with its MLS-related sales numbers leaguewide. T-shirts and headwear have been the biggest sellers, and Yuska said the company’s sales totals have exceeded internal expectations, though he declined to provide specific figures. He also said the brand will release more options in the fall, including Henleys, track jackets and training tops. MLS club shorts are on the way, as well.
In addition, Yuska said, Mitchell & Ness has discussed internally the possibility of working with some of the retired marks of MLS clubs, similar to what it has done with other leagues — though he noted that those ideas still needed league approval.
“I think if you look at some of the opportunities that are there with retro kits, or the old shorts from the inaugural season with that retro-1990’s styling — I think that could be amazing,” he said.
All of the new apparel work comes at time when MLS has seen a boom in merchandise from the launches of New York City FC and Orlando City SC last year. It’s already benefiting from demand for product for its future expansion teams, too.
Towers declined to specify the size of MLS’s consumer products business other than to say it’s a nine-figure annual business for the league. She noted this year’s count is up by a double-digit percentage compared with last year at midseason.
Adidas is MLS’s official athletic sponsor and licensed-product supplier, a role it has had since 2004. Its contract, in place since 2010, pays the league more than $25 million annually and continues through 2018.
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LAFC backers have gear far ahead of the team’s debut.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
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For the two clubs that made their debuts last year, Towers said even the league’s most optimistic projections have been outpaced by the actual figures. Both teams already sit in the upper half among the league’s clubs for merchandise sales, supported heavily by having global stars such as Kaka, David Villa and Andrea Pirlo on their rosters.
Looking ahead, the league’s next three announced franchises — in Atlanta, Los Angeles and Minnesota — have all started releasing merchandise, doing so even before they’ve been scheduled for their first MLS matches.
“The merchandise for those teams [has] not just been well-received, it’s almost been demanded by the fans of the new teams,” Towers said. “It really speaks to the excitement in those markets, that there is really this kind of anticipation for when they launch.”
Ann Rodriguez, vice president of business operations for Atlanta United FC, said the league’s increased emphasis on lifestyle merchandise has helped the new clubs have some of their early success.
“This migration into lifestyle has really appealed to a more casual fan, and it really hasn’t come at the expense of scarves or jerseys,” said Rodriguez, who previously worked for the San Jose Earthquakes. “Especially for us, it has helped us become a part of the city culture very quickly and has been really important from a marketing and brand-development standpoint.”
Towers similarly pointed to LAFC. When it debuted its logo and team colors in January, there was a limited line of merchandise released as well, including a hat featuring just the club’s logo. Since then, that product has been almost perpetually out of stock, she said.
“When we started to consider the number of items and pieces we would release in the beginning, we really wanted every piece to feel like it was meaningful right from the beginning,” said Joanne Wong, LAFC’s executive vice president of marketing. “A lot of our marketing messaging is about making history together in Los Angeles, and there’s no way to better do that than have a piece of merchandise.”
