Fanatics to Work With Foot Locker to Sell Licensed Sports Products
Fanatics and Foot Locker Inc. have signed a long-term connected inventory partnership deal that will significantly expand the retailer’s assortment of officially licensed fan merchandise.
The deal, which is similar to one Fanatics inked with Nordstrom last fall, will find Foot Locker operating the front end of the business while the digital sports and merchandising platform fulfills the orders. Foot Locker, which operates stores under the Kids Foot Locker and Champs Sports banners, had not worked with Fanatics in the past.
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“We are excited to partner with Fanatics as we continue to enrich our assortment, provide more choice to our consumer and enhance our omnichannel positioning,” said Andrew Gray, executive vice president, global lockers and Champs Sports for Foot Locker, Inc. “Pairing Foot Locker’s leadership in sneaker culture with the sports fan and assortment power of Fanatics, is a natural fit. Bringing together these two dynamic forces will drive and serve sport and sneaker culture in exciting ways.”
Beginning this fall, shoppers visiting footlocker.com, kidsfootlocker.com, and champssports.com will have access to a significant portion of Fanatics’ licensed sports merchandise, including teams and players from NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, WNBA and NCAA. The collections for men, women and children, will include apparel, jerseys, headwear, and hardgoods from a variety of brands such as Nike, Adidas, Mitchell & Ness, New Era, Pro Standard, Wear by Erin Andrews and Fanatics. Special championship collection products will also be part of the offering. Fanatics uses its vertically integrated supply chain to immediately produce merchandise tied to big moments in sports, such as a victory in the Super Bowl or World Series. Shoppers are able to order the pieces sporting the graphics from the winning teams right after the games end and have the products delivered to them within the standard delivery period.
“Fanatics is thrilled to partner with Foot Locker and bring a broad, tailored assortment from its leading product catalogue to online shoppers,” said Jack Boyle, Fanatics Commerce global co-president, direct-to-consumer. “Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker and Champs Sports are trusted, respected consumer brands and we’re delighted to now offer Fanatics’ customers an incredible selection of quality fan gear for all members of the family.”
Fanatics raised $1.5 billion in March from a group of investors that included BlackRock, Fidelity and MSD Capital, Michael Dell’s private investment firm. It valued the company at $27 billion.
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