Licensing tied to e-sports leagues, governing bodies, teams, and athletes has been slowly growing for the past three or so years. Most of the action to date has occurred through specialist licensees and distributors such as We Are Nations, Meta Threads, EsportsOnly.com, Manatee.gg, and Esportsclothing.com. There have also been occasional capsule collections, as well as […]
Archive | Sports
Sporting Goods Makers Relish Pickleball
Pickleball, created in the U.S. in 1965, is one of the fastest-growing participation sports in North America. Combining elements of tennis, badminton, and ping pong, it uses an oversized ping pong–like paddle and a wiffleball-like ball. A group of specialist equipment makers and ecommerce companies has emerged to supply the pickleball needs of both professionals […]
The Sporting Life
Last September we published a post on a handful of new and expanding pro sports leagues that were dipping their toes into the licensing business. Here are some more names to add to that list: • The National Women’s Hockey League, the first female pro league in this sport, was launched in 2015 with four […]
Getting a Kick Out of Fashion
Leading football clubs around the world, like other sports organizations, have been forging deals with design labels for fashion-forward apparel collections. Some of the examples in the second half of this year: Manchester United paired with True Religion for a line of premium denim for women and men, along with a future junior’s range, sold […]
Getting Off To A Slow Start
New ventures involving the growing e-sports industry are announced on a daily basis. E-sports stadiums are being built, such as the world’s largest to date in Arlington, Texas, opening this month. Musicians and other celebrities such as Drake, Imagine Dragons, and Michael Jordan are investing in teams and leagues. Sports leagues, governing bodies, teams, colleges, […]
A League of Their Own
The U.S. sports licensing landscape is expanding, incrementally, with the launch or expansion of new merchandise programs tied to professional sports leagues beyond the “big five” of the National Football League, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, and Major League Soccer. Property owners—mostly brand-new leagues—that have recently introduced licensing and/or sponsorship initiatives […]
Hat Trick
Athletes playing on professional sports teams have increasingly entered the men’s apparel market, especially through collaborations, proprietary brands, and direct-to-retail deals. These have included players known for their careers in football (e.g., Russell Wilson with his Good Man brand), baseball (Mo Vaughn with his MVP Collections), basketball (Russell Westbrook with his ongoing capsules at Barney’s […]
Revving Up For Rugby
As fan anticipation builds globally for the next Rugby World Cup, to be held in Japan in fall 2019, several licensing, sponsorship, and representation deals involving the sport, in its various forms, have come to light in the past few months. Among them: World Rugby and IMG named Canterbury, which outfits a number of national […]
World Cup Couture
With the finals of the FIFA World Cup coming up this Sunday, pitting France against Croatia, it seems like a good time to look at the impact of the competition on the world of high fashion, officially licensed and otherwise. Here are some of the strategies involving fashion labels, designers, sports licensors, and retailers trying […]
Tennis Players Ace Off-Court Fashion
Summer in the northern hemisphere is the season for many of the major global tennis tournaments, including the French and U.S. Opens and Wimbledon. It is also a key time for new product announcements involving well-known players, who have long been active in lending their names to fashion lines beyond their on-court endorsement deals. Tennis […]