Fanatics
Sports licensing giant Fanatics has reshuffled its work force, cutting more than 100 employees from its Commerce Division, including workers at its Tampa, Fla., and Easton, Pa., facilities. The cuts, which are less than 1% of the Fanatics work force, included VPs, directors and managers. The restructuring follows by five months the installation of Andrew Low Ah Kee as CEO of Fanatics Commerce. Those cut were told they were part of a restructuring.
A Fanatics spokesman issued a prepared statement to SBJ: “As we continue to evolve from a merchandise company into a global digital sports platform, our organizational structure should naturally transition alongside it. (This is) a strategic restructuring of our Fanatics Commerce business to make the fan experience even more central to everything we do. As part of this restructuring, we uncovered a very small number of positions that were no longer in alignment with our strategic priorities.”
A veteran industry licensing exec called the workforce reductions “disturbing, of course, but Fanatics-specific” and not indicative of widespread industry softness.
Over the past decade, Fanatics has grown to dominate sports licensing through a series of acquisitions to the point where it now controls rights to market and sell on-field and fan apparel for all of the biggest stick-and-ball sports leagues in the U.S. -- all of which, along with some P.A.'s, own equity in Fanatics. After its most recent equity sale in late 2022, a $700M stake sold valued Fanatics at $31B.
Late last year Moody’s downgraded Fanatics debt rating because of what it termed “significantly weaker than expected earnings and cash flow. However, Moody’s added that Fanatics “also benefits from a significant pipeline of potential new and exclusive licensing relationships which should support revenue and EBITDA growth over the next 12-18 months.”
