July 16 – Premier League Tottenham Hotspur have continued their push into the north American market with a merchandising hook-up with US sports eCommerce giant Fanatics.
Spurs have been steadily building their US presence and have an estimated fan-base of more than 14 million across the North American region, including more than 40 Official Supporters Clubs. US fans will be able to watch the team play in this year’s Major League Soccer All-Star Match in Denver, Colorado, on July 29.
The club is also bringing a piece of the USA to north London once its stadium renovation is complete in 2018 with a 10-year-partnership with the National Football League (NFL) that will see a minimum of two NFL games per year played at the new White Hart Lane.
Fanatics is the dominant sports e-tailer in the US and the link-up will drive the Spurs brand to a significantly wider market. Fanatics operates more than 300 online and offline stores, including the e-commerce business for all major professional sports leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NASCAR, PGA), major media brands (NBC Sports, CBS Sports, FOX Sports) and more than 150 collegiate and professional team properties.
The deal with Fanatics was brokered by Spurs’ official licensing agent for North America, Fermata Partners, following the US Licensing Expo in Las Vegas last month. Spurs are the first European club to sign a licensing deal with Fanatics.
“We are proud to become the first European football club to be working with Fanatics. Our North American fan-base is hugely important to us and this relationship will give our fans in the region greater access to our product,” said Gary Jacobson, Brand Licensing Manager at Tottenham Hotspur. “For a company like Fanatics to come on board is a testament to the growth of our licensing portfolio in North America during recent years as we strive to continue to take Club product into new and exciting areas of retail.”
The first Spurs licensed product will soon be available on the Fanatics online platform ahead of the start of the 2015/16 Premier League season.
Brian Swallow, SVP, Strategy and Business Development at Fanatics. “With our leading technology platform and production and distribution facilities located strategically throughout the region, Tottenham Hotspur fans will now have easy access to an unparalleled assortment of the latest apparel.”
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