Shohei Ohtani sparked a big year for the Angels' team store, Legends.GETTY IMAGES
The MLB L.A. Angels' Shohei Ohtani's popularity forced his team's merchandising unit to "play catch-up for an entire season," according to Jim Allen of KYODO. Club merchandise store Legends GM Eric Ursua said, "We weren't ready. When we started off (after his signing), we only had like three or four Ohtani items. ... By the end of the season, we had six or seven dozen different items. We had no idea we would need so many different Ohtani items. And it was all out of need. Everything we put out, people went for it." Ursua "declined to talk specifically about Ohtani items' specific sales volume" because of a team and store policy that "treats all sales as a team effort." Ursua: "We had a great increase in team merchandise sales. I don't give out specifics because it's a team game." Although Ursua "did not divulge sales volume growth compared with the previous year," he admitted the percentage "was in double digits." He said, "Obviously, Ohtani was a factor in that [sales increase]. But we saw growth among quite a few players. Everybody picks up from everybody" (KYODO, 2/7).
