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 teams, adding a fifth in the current 2018-2019 season. The Loyalist is the NWHL’s merchandise partner, managing the online store for both the league and its teams. Players earn 15% of sales of official jerseys and t-shirts; the top-selling player in the 2017-2018 season was Harrison Browne of the Metropolitan Riveters.
• The Canadian Women’s Hockey League expanded into the Chinese market in 2017. It currently has one Chinese team, the Shenzen KRS Vanke Rays, as well as six Canadian teams and one American team. Also in 2017, the league transitioned from amateur to pro by paying its players for the first time. (There has been some talk of the CWHL merging with the rival NWHL.) Real Sports Apparel is the league’s licensee for team gear.
• The Canadian Premier League will begin play in April 2019 with seven men’s soccer teams; more clubs are expected to be added by 2020. In September, the league named Italian company Macron as its official kit, training gear, and sidelines apparel provider for the inaugural season. Macron also supplies a number of European clubs.
• India’s Pro Kabaddi League expanded in 2017 by adding four new teams, after launching in 2014. Its clubs manage their own merchandising; recent deals include the Haryana Steelers pairing with Alcis Sports for kits in September 2018 and the Uttar Pradesh Yoddha partnering with T10 Sports for official merchandise in October. FieldGear supplies league-identified merchandise. Kabaddi is a contact sport played between two teams of seven players that is popular in India and surrounding nations.
While none of these leagues or their teams is likely to develop into a merchandising power along the lines of the U.S. pro leagues or the most popular soccer/football clubs around the world, they present an opportunity for specialist licensees, particularly those based in the respective leagues’ home territories.
The next Raugust Communications e-newsletter will be sent out tomorrow, Tuesday, January 15, 2019. The Licensing Trend of the Month features a discussion of the benefits of multiple (e.g., more than two) partners in licensing deals and collaborations; the Datapoint research spotlight focuses on the eyewear category. If you are not a subscriber to this free publication, sign up here.
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