108-109_Vegas LSB_Summer 2022.qxp_NEW LSB 2008 GRID 05/05/2022 18:39 Page 108
STATE OF THE NATION: SPORTS
Good sports From the racetrack through to the UFC ring, the first part of 2022 has proved to be a busy time in the licensed sports category. LSB rounds up some of the latest highlights.
Inset: The deal allows authentic, race-used memorabilia to be sold through www.f1authentics.com. Below: The countdown is on to the Rugby World Cup 2023. Below left: New Era is backing France Rugby with the new collection.
The Memento Group lines up with McLaren Racing
New Era on board with France Rugby IMG and France Rugby have launched an initial collection with global leader in lifestyle and sports headwear, New Era. The line features France Rugby’s iconic blue, white and red logo across five pieces of merchandise, with bestseller Blue NEW ERA Heritage 9Forty. Available online through the France Rugby and New Era official websites, prices range from €22 to €33. A new collection with New Era will be released shortly.
RWC 2023 heads online Ahead of the Rugby World Cup 2023 tournament taking place in France, its online store has launched, through deals brokered by IMG. The website features official products for the major sports competition including supporter ranges, with new products available on a regular basis and product offering increasing leading up to the tournament.
108
LICENSING SOURCE BOOK EUROPE 2022
Sports licensing, retail and memorabilia business, The Memento Group has confirmed a new multi-year licensing deal with Formula 1 team, McLaren Racing. The deal allows authentic, race-used memorabilia to be sold through www.f1authentics.com – F1’s official memorabilia platform. The multi-year licence agreement will extend the relationship between McLaren Racing and The Memento Group until the end of the 2024 F1 season and is the largest commitment the F1 team has made to date to the F1 Authentics ecommerce platform. Under the terms of the agreement McLaren Racing will release official components and bodywork for the first time, alongside heritage items and racewear pieces that have been available on F1 Authentics since 2019.
Fanatics body slams in with WWE WWE and Fanatics have confirmed a long-term sports and entertainment partnership across ecommerce, licensed merchandise, trading cards and NFTs. This summer will see Fanatics exclusively re-introduce a new ecommerce and mobile destination – WWE Shop – giving fans access to an assortment of merchandise across all categories including apparel, hard goods (such as title belts), headwear and accessories. In addition, Fanatics Collectibles – the company’s trading cards and collectables division – will also become the exclusive provider of licensed WWE physical and digital trading cards, which will bear the Topps logo. Also under the pact, later this year Fanatics’ next generation digital collectables company, Candy Digital, will become one of WWE’s primary NFT partners.
