The NHL made waves this offseason when they officially announced Fanatics as the new on ice jersey manufacturer. The Minnesota Wild are taking that a step further with their in-arena merchandise store. Fans aren’t exactly thrilled about it.
Minnesota Wild fans don’t like Fanatics
Fanatics is an absolute juggernaut in the merchandise space and the company has been gobbling up new ventures at a breakneck pace. The NHL uniforms will be their first to display the Fanatics logo. Fanatics currently operates all e-commerce platforms for the Wild, and they now will take over physical locations as well.
“We are extremely excited to announce our partnership with Fanatics as our new end-to-end retail partner. As the leader in licensed sports merchandise, fans will enjoy an enhanced experience both online and at the new Xcel Energy Center store, with greater variety and increased availability of all their favorite Wild gear.”
Carin Anderson, Minnesota Wild VP of Corporate Partnerships and Retail Management, on the new partnership (NHL.com)
Of course the move is a logical and straightforward one. Fanatics already handles the online presence for multiple teams and sports leagues. This represents more of a branding venture than reinvention of any process. That said, Fanatics simply does not have great standing in the eyes of the consumer. The giant came under fire for the production of Major League Baseball’s new uniforms (which wound up being Nike’s fault). They also have generated dedicated platforms to highlight their mistakes.
Not surprisingly fan reaction to the new partnership was not positive.
It remains to be seen how the Minnesota Wild will change with Fanatics taking over physical locations. The likelihood is that there will be little interruption. Also, physically purchasing product makes it infinitely easier to spot an issue ahead of time. This does generate additional revenue for the company, however.
-1723778905-q80.webp "Vikings Get Good News on Jordan Addison; Blake Cashman Has Finger Surgery?")