Event retail and merch company MainGate is seeing "booming" business for the NFL teams it represents, according to Anthony Schoettle of the INDIANAPOLIS BUSINESS JOURNAL. MainGate President & CEO Dave Moroknek said that sales for the six NFL teams are "trending higher than other teams" in the league and that the company's NFL division is "seeing strong double-digit percentage sales increases over last year." Moroknek: "Overall, through training camp and the first week of the season, we're up about 27 percent." Schoettle notes the success has led MainGate, which recently won a contract to sell merch at Super Bowl XLVIII, "to enter talks with other NFL teams about handling their merchandise." Moroknek said, "I think this year we could add at least one more stadium deal." While he declined to rank the teams the company represents in terms of sales increases, Moroknek said that the Redskins are "the leader." He said they are "seeing a nearly 100-percent increase in sales." Moroknek "credited much of the increase to the team's training camp move from its corporate headquarters to a new sports complex in Redskins-crazy Richmond." He added that the company's other NFL clients have "seen year-over-year sales increases ranging" from 15-25%. Moroknek said that popularity in apparel and other items made specifically for women is "spurring growth." Schoettle noted the sale of women's items is "so strong" that MainGate, for the first time at any venue, is "opening a season-long specialty store for women" at FedExField (INDIANAPOLIS BUSINESS JOURNAL, 9/16 issue).
PEACE, LOVE, & FOOTBALL: In Dallas, Candace Carlisle reports the Cowboys have partnered with Miami-based luxury lifestyle brand Peace Love World "to create a collection of female-friendly apparel for the hard-core Cowboys fan." An 1,800-square-foot pop-up store, "known as Peace Love World Style Lounge, opened at AT&T Stadium." Cowboys Exec VP/Brand Management Charlotte Jones Anderson, when asked if the female fan is a growing business segment for the team, said, "Forty-four percent of our fans are women, and we wanted to create a design for them, especially with the success of the newly opened Victoria Secret Pink store last year. ... It used to be ‘shrink it and pink it,’ but now there’s a lot more effort and design being put into the market." She added of the investment the team is putting into the Peace Love World collection, "The actual pop-up store is temporary space that we hope to make permanent. ... It remains to be seen what our investment will be in the partnership. For right now, the 1,800-square-foot space right above our pro shop is the investment. It’s a chance we’re taking with this space within the stadium." Anderson: "We really want to hone in and further develop the women’s space. It’s a key focus for us, and we’re looking for unique partnerships with recognizable brands outside of the Cowboys franchise" (DALLAS BUSINESS JOURNAL, 9/13 issue).
