A Summer of Sport: Simon Gresswell 146-211 The Licensed Properties Showcase

It’s been a busy few months for SGLP’s md, Simon Gresswell, taking in various sporting events variously as a consultant, agent, guest and punter, but always with an eye on what’s going on in the world of sports licensing, merchandising and retail.

summer A sporting

Inset: It’s year two for The Hundred tournament and it wasn’t the only place on which card helmets were spotted. Below: The LV Raiders team has a big merchandise store in Las Vegas.

Late April saw the launch of the ECB’s new kit partner’s Test ranges, with white ball cricket ranges following on later from Castore and yet another rights scoop for a rapidly visible brand. Next stop, on to the Royal Windsor Horse show, as part of my research for a client, the FEI. Equestrian events are dominated by equipment and specialist apparel brands. The event merch was ticking over, but playing second fiddle to brands and indeed to their design that incorporated a heavy nod to the Queen’s #PlatyJubes. It was great to be part of a PoC presentation at Licensing Expo and lest we forget the erstwhile LA Raiders, now LV Raiders, have their home in Sin City, so I had a good mooch round their store. US sports merch, nobody really does it better. Setting aside any ethical and moral debates about the event’s funders, I went along to the first day of LIV Golf at the Centurion GC near St Albans. While the background to this event might not be black and white, the branding for the event, fan village and most of the merch, was most definitely black, white and bold. There was thoughtful on-site execution, combining some team merch (necessary by definition, but high risk with no real fans as yet established) with some solid, bestseller lines and some lifestyle golf designs that were selling out fast. Two days after our little paddle across the Channel, myself and the other co-founders of The Bob Willis Fund were again honoured to stage our second #BlueforBob day at the England v India ‘extra’ Test match at Edgbaston. We raised a big chunk of change for earlier and better diagnosis of prostate cancer. As well as generous support with blue wigs for the Barmy Army from Smiffys, we were reminded that simple things like working closely with ops staff and using mechanics like ‘free’ and ‘suggested donation’ for our own merch, still work as well as ever. Three days later, I was at Wimbledon. I spied some interesting and bespoke merch, such as the Centre Court 100 towel, 4 x tennis Majors co-branded merch, baby Babolat bags and a DIY signature hat, wide-brimmed and adorned with various collected players’ signatures, sat atop a lady right in front of us on Centre Court.

Another former client’s annual event was calling soon after, with the advent of Royal Ascot. I was very pleased to see how my former colleagues had developed product, design and co-brands, while also delivering different offerings for the different fan areas at this iconic venue and event. Although I wasn’t able to get up to the historic 150th Open at St Andrew’s, the walk-through video of the enormous shop, underpinned by many positive comments online from industry experts, meant that I’d imagine this was a bumper year for the R&A in this commercial area. The beautiful, bespoke 150th artwork would surely have contributed heavily to this. I attended the Vitality Blast T20 Finals day with friends, again at Edgbaston. We took in the full experience of the Hollies stand and wore commemorative shirts for two great mates we’d lost in the last two years. Although the Tour de France is a client of SGLP, I wasn’t able to make it to the Tour this year, which was a shame, as it was one of the most exciting of recent years. With the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift also starting, I can’t wait for the starts in Bilbao next year. Next was a fantastic night at Stadium MK for the UEFA Women’s Euros semi-final, Germany v France. A quality game, convivial atmosphere and great stadium… but I missed visiting the merch unit outside of the concourse, on the way in, with merch not available inside. I took the chance to drop into the Euros Fan Zone in Trafalgar Square the following weekend, en route to the London Formula E. Plenty of sponsor activations, free shirts, engagement and have-a-go booths. VW and LEGO seemed most popular. That afternoon was my first time at Formula E. The half indoor, half outdoor track was innovative and exciting and the racing is electric in every sense. I knew that Formula E had tried new things in the past in merch and experiential, with features like a DJ character with an over-sized helmet. Well, card helmets are de rigueur this year and not just for kids. The merch offering is at a nascent stage and I know the event is on a journey to become fully sustainable, reflected in a tight range and some items from selected teams only. I took my daughter and boyfriend to the Commonwealth Games to take in the ‘Brum ‘ting’ and the Women’s Beach Volleyball. There were great sponsor activations and the very definition of a megastore in Victoria and Centenary Squares respectively. Having worked on Volleyball World’s LM&R strategy last year, I’m even more convinced this is a sport with considerable lifestyle merchandising potential. I all but rounded off my sporting events summer tour with a Monday night at Lord’s to see the London Spirit Men hammer the Manchester Originals and the currently luckless Jos Buttler, in The Hundred. It’s only year two for the tournament, but I can report plenty of replica shirts and cap sales among the crowd on a very warm evening at the home of cricket, especially in the new Edrich stand. Looking forward, the Rugby Union Women’s World Cup, Rugby League World Cup, Autumn Internationals and also the Autumn Series (organised by Six Nations Rugby Ltd) and the FIFA World Cup all still await us this year. It will be interesting to see where each of these organisations is in their merch journeys, in which channels and in which media.

Inset: There was a good variety of merchandise at the LIV Golf fan village. Below: There was a host of merchandise available for the UEFA Women’s Euros. Bottom: The growing Formula E programme currently has a tight range.