Draft, trade rumors leave sportswear stores scrambling
It has been a over a month since the Penguins took home the Stanley Cup, inspiring thousands of Pittsburghers who paraded around the city with their heads held high.
But if the regret of euphorically — and impulsively — buying that Marc-Andre Fleury jersey or T-shirt just before the goaltender was sent to another team hasn’t quite set in yet, a few fans’ wardrobes might be in for still more surprises.
With rumors running hot and cold that Pirates players such as outfielder Andrew McCutchen and pitcher Gerrit Cole could be on the trading block, sportswear stores like family-owned Hometowne Sports stand prepared to make merchandise changes. Some will drop prices on the rumor, some will wait until official confirmation.
It’s a problem that gets old for many of these types of retailers. Every season, store managers and owners have to keep an ear out for rumors about players leaving town — whether it be Pirates, Steelers or Penguins. And with merchandise such as licensed team jerseys averaging about $100, getting stuck with outdated stock can be costly.
Luckily for the South Side store, shift manager Stephanie Saunders said, they’ve been out of McCutchen and Cole shirts for a while and were able to place smaller orders once trade rumors heated up. Prices won’t be knocked down just yet, though.
The rumors have to be true first, Ms. Saunders said, so that the store doesn’t lose too much money. With Fleury’s shirt, it was a matter of keeping it in stock after the big Stanley Cup win.
The store ran out just before the June 21 announcement that the Las Vegas Golden Knights would pick him up as part of that team’s expansion draft. Hometowne Sports never had to
knock down the price.
The retailer’s philosophy stays the same, though. The staff has to know for sure.
Once they’ve confirmed that, say, McCutchen will be leaving — a move that seems less likely than it did a few weeks ago with the Pirates’ recent surge in the standings — they will offer merchandise for 50 percent off the original price.
“As a small business, we can’t just take that loss,” Ms. Saunders said. “Every time a Pittsburgh player gets traded, we take a loss.”
Not everyone keeps up with the latest rumors, though, she added. And that’s great for business.
“From my experience, people don’t realize right away,” Ms. Saunders said. “People will still buy his shirt.”
‘Being a fan’
On a game day for the Pirates or the Steelers, a walk along the North Shore will make it difficult to imagine that jerseys bearing a player’s name weren’t always popular. But it is a relatively recent concept, coming about in the 1980s when brands such as Starter were all the craze, said Matt Powell, a sports analyst with Port Washington, N.Y.-based market research company NPD
Mr. Powell said the popularity of jerseys fell off around the turn of the millennium, but has seen a rise in popularity as jerseys become a part of more contemporary fashion trends.
Ever since the National Football League gave Reebok the license to make official jerseys and merchandise in 2001, licensed sportswear has mushroomed into a multi-billion dollar industry.
Ten years later Nike made a $1.1 billion deal with the NFL to make its jerseys, and now a similar eight-year partnership with the NBA starts in the 2017-2018 season.
“It’s all about being a fan,” Mr. Powell said. “And if there’s someone you identify with, you’re likely to have something with their name and number on it.”
While some old jerseys have aged like a good whiskey, he said, most of them aren’t worth nearly anything; especially one of a player with an outdated number and team.
That’s why paying attention to trade rumors is part of the business.
“Vendors have to move very quickly,” Mr. Powell said. “The sooner you move that merchandise the better. Inventory like that is like fruit; it does not get better with age.”
Typically, vendors don’t get much notice, he added, so there’s nothing they can do from the production side. He said many dump their stock at off-price retailers such as T.J. Maxx or Ross Dress for Less.
If vendors just can’t seem to get rid of their stock, shipping it out of the country is the next best thing, Mr. Powell said.
‘I’d be mad’
For 8-year-old Bradley Baker of McKeesport, who stood outside PNC Park last week with his dad, Brad Baker, 38, a McCutchen trade would leave his favorite jersey in the trash — or even burned. Group.“He’ll probably never wear it again, that’s for sure,” Mr. Baker said. “He’d be mad. I’d be mad, it’s such an investment.”
Meanwhile, 30-year-old New Yorker Steve Custard, who was at the Pirates game against the Milwaukee Brewers on July 20, was convinced Cole won’t be leaving the city of bridges.
But if he were to leave, Mr. Custard will be keeping that Cole jersey.
“I like him as a person and as a player, so I’d probably keep it,” Mr. Custard said. “I’d be depressed, but what can you do.”