Athletic teamwear makes comeback
| • | Athletic-wear giant reborn |
The Indianapolis Star
After becoming a fashion must-have in the early 1990s, sports jerseys lost out to khakis and rugby shirts as the century turned.
Today, sports apparel is making a comeback as younger customers' tastes turn more casual.
Sports-licensed products pulled in $11.76 billion in sales in 2000, the latest numbers for the industry according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association. In 1996, sales soared to nearly $15 billion.
Though the association doesn't have a hard estimate for 2002, sales of licensed apparel are expected to surpass the $12 billion mark.
The National Football League alone registered $3 billion in licensed sales in 2001, according to Licensing Magazine.
"That makes us the fourth largest (clothing) brand in the world," said Brian McCarthy, spokesman for the NFL.
Among fans 12 years and older, 31 percent wear NFL clothing, compared to 17 percent who wear Major League Baseball; 12 percent who wear National Basketball Association; and 5 percent who wear National Hockey League apparel, according to an August ESPN/Chilton sports poll.
While all evidence points to an upward swing in licensed clothing, it won't be an easy segment to grow, said Mike May, spokesman for the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association.
"Everyone is in the business of promoting their brand and doing it through licensing clothing and hats," said May. "It's cluttering the marketplace with too much product, and there's just not enough money to go around."
