Fanatics is taking over operations of the NHL’s flagship retail store in New York City.
The store, which opened in 2007 on the ground floor of the same Sixth Avenue building in which the league has its headquarters, was created in partnership with Reebok, the league’s previous apparel and jersey partner.
Fanatics has an overarching deal with the NHL that runs through 2034 and includes rights such as replica jerseys, championship apparel and worldwide e-commerce, excluding China. The company also operates the NBA’s flagship store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, which opened in 2015.
The change at the NHL store will result in several renovations. A redesign will create 25 percent more retail space, which Fanatics will fill with a mix of men’s, women’s and children’s apparel. The company will also put a larger focus on NHL-related novelty and hard-goods items, which weren’t broadly available in the store prior, and will designate a specific area of the store for those products.
The NHL Store had previously not stocked the Fanatics-produced replica NHL team jerseys, instead offering only the Adidas-produced on-ice jerseys. Going forward, the store will have both of the jerseys for all 31 teams. Fanatics also will put a larger emphasis on jersey customization, moving that area from out of the back of the store to the focal point in the front.
In 2016, the NHL signed a long-term lease that would see it move its headquarters at some point in 2019 to a new building known as One Manhattan West, located one block west of Madison Square Garden. In addition to the 160,000 square feet of office space the league will have in the tower, it also is leasing 15,000 square feet for a store in the central corridor of the same development. It is unknown if or when the existing flagship store will close.
The remodeled store is expected to open later in July.
