Clock runs out
House of Football to close down; owners sacked by insurmountable challenges
Amainstay of Albuquerque’s retail scene where over the years legions of fans went to buy National Football League merchandise is the latest casualty in the decline of brickand-mortar retail.
The owners of House of Football said Monday that they would close the business after 34 years of hawking products at stores in Albuquerque and Rio Rancho. Liquidation sales will begin Thursday at the stores, which are located at 2801 Eubank NE and at 3301 Southern SE in Rio Rancho. Both locations will be open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. through 6 p.m. until everything has been sold.
In a previous interview with the Journal, owner Andy Hageman said the business, which was previously known as Krystal’s NFL Shop, couldn’t overcome the financial challenges of several events. One was a ruling that only the league could sell NFL products online, not licensed storefront purveyors like House of Football. In addition, the league also mandated that official NFL stores only could sell gear that players wear on the sidelines.
“It was hard not being able to sell merchandise anymore on Amazon,” Hageman said.
Foot traffic into the stores slowed considerably in the fall after President Donald Trump and many fans blasted the wave of player protests during the national anthem.
Hageman and his wife, Sue, who took over as owners of the business in 2010, worked hard to rebrand the enterprise with a name change, added a second location, provided employment to 20 people and supported the community in several ways. “We’ve given a total of $233,000 in cash and merchandise to support various charities and individuals, such as cancer victims,” said Hageman. “We’ve done our bit.”
Besides the recent controversy, the last few years also have not been kind to the pigskin sport.
The percentage of U.S. adults who self-identify as professional football fans has fallen from 67 percent in December 2012, the last time Gallup asked the question, to 57 percent today. In contrast, every other sport measured in the October 2017 survey, except for Olympic sports, did not change meaningfully from five years ago.
Brick-and-mortar retail has been spiraling amid steep competition from online outlets and powerhouse discount chains such as Walmart and Target.