Our thoughts are with the country and people of Ukraine, hoping a peaceful end is near.
On Today’s Agenda:
PSG to NYC
A Quick Look at the 2022 MLB Season
NWSL x Delta
French Powerhouse Opening Up Shop on 5th Ave
PSG to NYC
Earlier this week, French Ligue 1 and European powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) has announced the opening of a new flagship store on the world-famous 5th Avenue in New York City.
Now for a bit of background for those of you who don’t know, a flagship store is the lead store for a brand / retail chain. It acts as a retail showcase for the brand; simply the cream of the crop of any brand. Additionally, 5th Avenue is known for its massive brand boutiques and flagship stores, many of which are some of the world’s biggest luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co., Prada, Armani, and so much more.
PSG is known in the football and fashion world for its unique collaborations with Nike’s Jordan brand and Stüssy, but this isn’t the first non-french retail location for the famous French team. PSG also has boutiques in Japan, Seoul, Doha, and one in Los Angeles, but the new flagship store will be the largest PSG retail location outside of Paris.
The store will stay true to its roots and include a wide variety of soccer apparel and accessories from its Nike and Jordan partnership, but notably will include one-of-a-kind collections, NYC-inspired designs, and lifestyle collections.
This store is big news, as over 10 years ago, PSG was nowhere on the global sports radar. Now, PSG is the first team to open an official store in NYC and will help PSG continue to grow as a major sports brand worldwide.
PSG Brand Director Fabian Allègre stated that “the club is now the #4 sports club in the world on social media,” with the PSG fanbase continuously growing in the US and globally for that matter. With over 160 million fans worldwide, PSG in NYC is a big deal.
This may seem like just another store opening up in New York City, but for the sports world, it's a major stepping stone for the future of sports brands. Iconic teams and brands such as Manchester United, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Chicago Bulls, for example, have yet to take such a large step outside of the regular football territory. Almost every single team in the professional system has brand-specific stores in their stomping grounds and some even internationally, but nothing of this calibre. PSG are known for their fashion and footballing success across the globe, with their Jordan and Stüssy collaborations selling millions worldwide.
Maybe this is the future of sports branding and fashion combining together to dominate multiple industries. Will this tempt more collaborations amongst the top brands? I guess we’ll find out, but for now, we’re just going to keep an eye out for that surely immense line outside the PSG store on the official opening date - March 18th, 2022: the start of a new era.
The MLB: Unlocked
A Quick Look at the 2022 MLB Season
How fans may feel after the drama, and how the brand may be impacted
MLB fans, the nightmare is (mostly) over. The MLB lockout came to an end early yesterday afternoon (March 10), with the MLB owners coming to a tentative agreement on a collective bargaining agreement with the MLB Player’s Union. With the agreement, the MLB is expected to have a full 162 game schedule, having to reschedule the first few weeks of the season that were ultimately postponed.
As we come out of this lockout and head into the regular season, there are some questions about the challenges the MLB faces - because the fans do not forget, and will not forget this 99 day saga between the owners and players.
A Damaged Brand Image - Rob Manfred
Rob Manfred has damaged the brand of the league, there is no question about it. From comments about the World Series trophy being a “piece of metal”, to claiming that MLB owners can make better returns in the stock market than owning a team, to a viral image of Manfred laughing while he announces cancelling games at a press conference - it might be safe to say that Manfred might be the most hated commission in North America.
With his leadership representing the face of the MLB from a league standpoint, it is no question that brands and fans will question how their support of the league may reflect as a vote of confidence for Manfred. This tweet from Mike Trout might just say it all:
Sponsorship Opportunities or Hesitancies?
Although the MLB saw a 50% increase in sponsorship from 2020 to 2021, the growth from here comes with concerns about the stability of the league. Although the new CBA will lock in the players to a multi-year deal, the ups and downs from the pandemic to this lockout will leave brands taking an extra step of caution before increasing their sponsorship presence in the league.
With the announcement of an expanded 12 team playoff, there is optimism for the league’s sponsorship revenue. Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reported that this will lead to the MLB collecting an additional $85 million a year from ESPN from their TV deal alone.
Beyond this, the expansion of the playoffs will hopefully lead to an increase in big market teams playing meaningful October baseball, which is reflected positively in TV ratings. One area of concern is the World Series viewership, which is rising from the historically low 2020 numbers (11.75 million viewers in 2021), but has some ground to make up to reach the highs of 2016 (23.4 million viewers).
The consequences of the lockout will continue to unfold over the next few days, weeks, and months. As the excitement of opening day is around the corner, executives in the league office may be biting their nails to see how fans will respond - and the impact on the league’s bottom line that this disagreement with the players has caused.
NWSL’s Historic Deal With Delta
Delta Joining The Surging League With A “Significant Investment”
For the longest time, fans of women’s soccer had to suffer through defunct leagues, mismanaged teams, and a lack of an overall structure to grow the game. In fact, the World Cup only introduced a women’s competition in 1991, 61 years after its inaugural tournament. However, investments are pouring in and women’s soccer is finally taking off in North America.
Last week, the NWSL, North America’s best women’s soccer competition, announced a multi-year partnership with Delta, one of America’s largest airlines. Although more details on the agreement were not made public, a statement from Delta described the investment as “significant”. It went on to say that Delta would focus on fan engagement, branding opportunities, and supporting women empowerment and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
Although the timing is purely coincidental, the WNBA is also struggling with an issue related to airlines. Earlier in March, New York Liberty’s owners were fined $500,000 for using chartered flights in the second half of the 2020-21 season. The league, who originally sought a $1,000,000 fine, said that using chartered flights results in a competitive advantage that is not sustainable across the league according to the WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement. The WNBA’s commissioner, Cathy Engelbert, stated that chartered flights for the entire league would cost more than $20,000,000 per season and would not be possible without more sponsorships. Although the NWSL’s partnership with Delta does not include charter flights, a spokesperson from the league said that they would work together to meet the travel needs of the teams and that details involving travel plans will continuously evolve.
However, with the way that the NWSL is trending, chartered flights might not be out of the question in the near future. The league has successfully acquired multiple new partnerships with notable brands in the past two years. Last May, the NWSL teamed up with Mastercard in another multi-year partnership focused on improving the fan experience both inside the stadium and at home. This follows other top-tier sponsorship agreements with Budweiser, Ally, Nationwide, Nike, and Verizon.
There is no telling how much revenue the league will gain from all these sponsorships, but it is great to see large companies invest in women’s soccer. Although the NWSL is still a ways away from establishing itself as the best soccer league in the world, the progress is undeniable and women’s soccer is growing steadily across North America.
The NWSL kicks off their annual pre-season tournament, the Challenge Cup, on March 18 with a match between two of the newest NWSL clubs, San Diego Wave FC and Angel City FC, which can be viewed on CBS (United States) or Twitch (international).