The average high temperature in February in Minneapolis is 29 degrees. In those frigid temperatures, this week’s Super Bowl activities will be spread across a wide area, including Minneapolis, St. Paul and Bloomington, home of the Mall of America. Consequently, there will be a surfeit of NFL Shop locations for Eagles and Patriots fans; more than 120 across hotels, skyways, U.S. Bank Stadium, the usual lavish emporium within the Super Bowl Experience (nee the NFL Experience) and a 5,000-square-foot shop at the Mall of America.
SB LII merchandise will be all about keeping warm.
“Considering the geography, the emphasis is on letting consumers shop where they are and relieving some of the pressure on the Experience Shop and the stadium,” said Michelle Micone, NFL senior vice president of consumer products.
Fans also will be able to order remotely through the Super Bowl LII Fan Mobile Pass app and pick up their orders at the Minneapolis Convention Center. On game day, there will be two stadium pickup locations on the 100 level.
As for what’s new within those retail locations? It’s all about staying warm in the bold and cold North.
“If we don’t set a record for knit cap sales, something’s wrong,” said Ryan DiNunzio, New Era senior director. There will be at least a dozen Super Bowl knit cap designs from New Era, about three times the usual amount. Starting the parade of cold-weather-licensed apparel will be faux-fur lined Bomber Caps, with ear flaps, which will be distributed to Eagles and Pats players, just after they land in Minnesota. The premium version of those “tarmac caps” will carry an MSRP of $185, and there’s a $75 takedown.
The NFL Shop at Super Bowl Experience shrinks to 35,000 square feet, from 45,000 last year in Houston. It will be carrying a selection appropriate for the Great White North, including gloves, scarves, jackets, heavy fleece and even hand warmers.
Whereas the smaller footprint at the Super Bowl Experience store did not permit jersey customization, licensee For Bare Feet will be customizing winter socks. Forever Collectibles joins the winter parade with a light-up knit toque, which will retail for $34.99.
“There’s lots of focus on keeping warm,” said Rhiannon Madden, NFL vice president of consumer products, while highlighting offerings from G-III, ’47 and Outer Stuff in the “Northern Lights” colors of silver, blue and purple. Longtime official football rights holder Wilson is among the many licensees using those colors. Among its offerings is a Wilson sky-blue football with a chrome LII logo.
Aramark is handling retail at all NFL Shop locations and at U.S. Bank Stadium. Aramark Sports & Entertainment President Carl Mittleman said cold-weather product inventory has increased by more than 20 percent. The Super Bowl Experience store will sell 1,748 separate SKUs, he said, including 368 T-shirt designs and 196 headwear designs. While there won’t be a separate high-end store-within-a store this year, there will still be some over-the-top products, including New Era’s $5,252 cashmere cap, festooned with Swarovski crystals. There will only be a dozen of those for sale, but a friendlier-priced version has a $70 price tag. DiNunzio said New Era will have around 36 Super Bowl cap designs, about a third more than usual.
At the stadium, “it’s a tight footprint, but we’ve captured as much incremental space as possible,” said Aramark’s Mittleman, while detailing the 35 merchandise stores in and around the venue, including two outdoor trailers. Aramark also is handling food and beverage concessions at the Super Bowl, with 2,200 employees servicing 250 locations, for a demand expected to generate three to four times more food and beverage sales than a regular-season Vikings game.
“We’re dealing with a bit of the unknown,” New Era’s DiNunzio said. “We could be looking at [temperatures] in the mid-30s and everyone’s OK outside, or we could be looking at sub-zero weather driving people indoors. That would have a dramatic impact on retail.”
