Sports Store Top Sellers Licensed Merchandise at College, Sports and Gaming Stores

By Carimé Lane

Sales of licensed merchandise at sports, college and game stores are supported by fans, collectors and students. Here’s how three games, sports and college stores across the country are catering to their clientele.

Chestnut Hill Sports is a 1,700-square-foot retail sporting good store in Philadelphia selling sports equipment, while also providing services like racket and lacrosse stick restringing, embroidery and silk screening. They also sell licensed merchandise.

Their top selling licensed merchandise are Eagles, Phillies and 76ers items. T-shirt sales tend to be better than sales of jerseys simply because of the cheaper price point, explained CoOwner Tom Amodie .

The success of the merchandise depends on the success of the team, said Amodie. “The better the teams do, the better our stuff does,” he explained.

Customers also buy licensed merchandise at the store based on which player’s name is displayed on the merchandise. At the moment, sales of Bryce Harper licensed merchandise, the Phillies MVP from last season, is selling well.

To keep sales of licensed merchandise moving, Amodie keeps the items displayed front and right at the front of the store.

They buy new licensed merchandise based on how the teams and players are currently doing. Their most recent add-ons include new Phillies shirts emblazoned with some of the names of the new players and new Eagles jerseys.

On the other hand, they’ve also found retro jerseys of retired players to be big hits as well. For example, vintage Eagles jerseys sell very well, according to Amodie.

Duke City Games is a 5,000-square-feet hobby storefront and the largest gaming area in New Mexico. They host competitive players and newcomers alike. The store specializes in collectible cards, Pokémon, Yu-GiOh!, Magic the Gathering and board games.

Their hobby boxes are the top sellers among their sports licensed merchandise. The boxes are an exclusive item containing multiple autographs from NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, NASCAR, UFC, and MLS leagues, Continued on page 152