NHL team jerseys have become a hot commodity in the league’s comeback season, with Reebok’s newly acquired hockey subsidiary struggling to keep up with demand.
Retailers were initially cautious with their advance orders for NHL licensed products, as there was a general belief that sales would be off previous levels.
The opposite turned out to be true. NHL licensed product sales have mirrored attendance and local TV ratings, all slightly ahead of 2003-04 numbers. For a product such as jerseys, where supply is determined by forecasts and manufacturing capabilities, a shortage was inevitable.
| Top-selling jerseys on NHL.com | | 1. | Sidney Crosby | Pittsburgh | | 2. | Peter Forsberg | Philadelphia | | 3. | Jaromir Jagr | New York Rangers | | 4. | Simon Gagne | Philadelphia | | 5. | Steve Yzerman | Detroit | | 6. | Henrik Lundqvist | New York Rangers | | 7. | Alexander Ovechkin | Washington | | 8. | Mario Lemieux | Pittsburgh | | 9. | Miroslav Satan | New York Islanders | | 10. | Rick DiPietro | New York Islanders | |
| Source: NHL |
“Everyone was relatively modest in expectations,” said Matt O’Toole, president of the NHL’s exclusive jersey licensee The Hockey Co., which was acquired by Reebok in the summer of 2004. “Then they got back on the ice and demand was a lot more than retailers anticipated and, quite frankly, we anticipated.”
Shortages are common in the licensed product market when a team or player performs well, or a trade or free-agent signing creates instant demand for a new product. The lockout created a dynamic that applied to every team, as the business went from a virtual standstill to a feverish pace in a few months.
“We found ourselves in late June with disrupted product cycles and development cycles, and all of us were unsure if the retailers were going to give us a shot,” said Brian Jennings, group vice president of consumer product marketing at NHL Enterprises.
Six months later, it’s been a sprint to get goods in stores by the holidays. Jennings said licensees reported some of their best October and November sales ever of NHL products.
For The Hockey Co., keeping up with demand has meant working off much shorter lead times than usual. In most years, O’Toole said, about 65 percent of jersey orders are placed on a “pre-book” basis, several months in advance. This year, he said, only about 20 percent of the total business will come from such orders.
That’s forced the company to run two shifts out of its production facility in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, and also to outsource from factories in the Far East — something it usually only does for pre-book orders.
They’re just getting caught up now.
“The first part of the season was pretty sketchy,” said Bill Townsend, general merchandising manager for The Pro Image, a 100-store chain that specializes in licensed products. He said most stores have gotten what they need in the last few weeks, but that for hot products like Sidney Crosby jerseys — the league’s No. 1 seller — there’s still “not nearly enough to fill the pipeline.”
Not that retailers are complaining about the robust market. One positive effect of the lockout was that a large number of players changed teams, and two years’ worth of rookies are joining the league at once, compelling many fans to run out and buy new jerseys. Of the 10 top-selling jerseys on NHL.com (see chart), five are for players who joined new clubs this season, including three rookies.
O’Toole said The Hockey Co. expects to rival its 2003-04 jersey sales totals, which he would not disclose. Its total hockey-related apparel sales in fiscal year 2003, the last for which figures are available, was about $75 million.
The new Reebok jerseys will have a short shelf life. Jerseys will be introduced next year with a futuristic look and cuts that will better define the physique of each player.
