Green
Means Go for Covers by BG New
Environmental Initiative Fosters Company’s Continued
Growth
When
we reported on Covers
by BG in the fall of 2008, the company was
preparing for its debut at the Sports Licensing & Tailgate
Show. According to CEO Dick Slack, that maiden voyage was
a success.
“We
didn’t have any hard and fast goals going in,” he
says. “We felt that it couldn’t hurt to get
some wider exposure in the industry, but the show did a
whole lot more than that. For us, the biggest thing turned
out to be enhancing our sales force. We picked up some
good distributors and sales reps.”
Grill
Dog on a Roll New
Product Provides Missing Link for the Dedicated BBQ’er
One
good turn deserves another. That’s the old axiom
that boosted Grill
Dog into national prominence on the Today
Show and in Men’s Journal during the last few months.
(Not a bad start for a product that’s been available
at retail for less than two years!)
The
Grill Dog is a stainless steel linked meat cooker that
sits atop a standard barbecue grill, rotating hot dogs,
sausage, brats, etc. and thus eliminating the need to tend
the fire and flip the meat. In test runs at Lowe’s
in the U.S. and Wal-Mart in Canada, the Grill Dog was a
sellout
success.
Rising
Star Retailer Awards Launched 50
Retailers to Be Honored in Las Vegas
The
Sports Licensing and Tailgate Show has
unveiled its Rising Star retailer recognition program,
which honors 50 stores in 50 states for creating the
hottest, coolest, most innovative environments for
sports licensing and tailgating products. The Rising
Star Awards will be presented during the Sports Licensing & Tailgate
Show at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, January 20–22,
2010.
The
Sports Licensing and Tailgate Show will be reaching out
this summer to manufacturers, distributors, leagues and
licensees to create a pool of nominees for the awards,
which will recognize individual stores that rise to the
challenge of complex and dynamic economic times. A nomination
form is currently available on the show’s web site
at showproco.com/risingstaraward.
Up to five stores may be nominated on a single form.
Riding
the Wave SportMast
Giving Fans a New Way to Show Team Spirit
Throw
the flag! Or better yet, hang it on the patented trailer
hitch flagpole from SportMast.
The company made its debut this past January at the Sports
Licensing and Tailgate Show, and owner and
creator Marc Oakley says his product has shown great promise. “So
far we’ve sold primarily online, through our website
and tailgating websites,” he reports. “But
we want to expand and sell in as many different places
as possible.”
To
that end, SportMast is working on an infomercial that will
run in July. Oakley expects the programming to have a big
impact. “Sports enthusiasts and tailgaters are the
obvious initial market,” he says. “I get such
an enthusiastic response whenever I use my SportMast. It
stands up to highway speeds and is easy to spot in a stadium
parking lot.”
Get
Your MotorHead Running FAB
Grills Hopes to Enter Victory Lane with New Grill
If
two heads are better than one, then what do you get with
three “garage heads”? The one and only propane
MotorHead Grill from FAB
Grills. The company appeared at the Sports
Licensing & Tailgate Show last January and is now ready
to launch expansion plans for 2009 and beyond.
“We
honestly believe in our faith,” says Russ Freeman,
one of FAB Grills’ three owners/partners. “It’s
part of what we do as a business.”
Oooh,
Baby, Baby Baby
Fanatic Singing a Sweet Tune for Retailers
One
thing that never wavers—even in difficult economic
times—is the allegiance of college sports fans. You
can say the same about sales of baby and toddler products.
That’s what makes Baby
Fanatic such a solid bet for licensed retailers.
“As
businesses talk about the gloom and doom of the retail
market, we saw our sales increase throughout 2008,” notes
company Mom and CEO Tricia Woodson. “Our products
have a passionate side that simply delights the moms and
proud dads that are buying our products at every type of
retailer imaginable nationwide.”
Bo
Knows Bo
Enterprises Making Its Mark in Licensed T-Shirts
What's
the hardest thing to find in the licensed collegiate marketplace?
For many retailers and buyers, it's the original product.
James Bowens, founder and owner of Bo
Enterprises, has
the answer.
"We're constantly creating new ideas," he
says. "All of our apparel is fresh. It's made to hit
the college market in a unique way."
Lookie,
Lookie, Here Comes Cookie Action
Images Debuts Allstar Cookies
Let
them eat cake—and cookies. That’s the message
from Tom Green, the president of Action
Images and his national sales manager Chuck
Taylor. Licensed sports buyers know Action Images for its
artistically rendered lithographs, prints, posters and
wearables. Now you can add edibles to that list.
“We
pride ourselves on fine-art prints at poster prices,” says
Green. “Our newest endeavor is MLB Players licensed
cookies and cakes featuring hi-res images of professional
baseball players.”
Team
Sports America Introduces
Personalized Licensed Frame
Line Future
Looking “Crystal Clear” for Licensed Sports Retailers
The
company that made the Scoreboard Clock a standard item
of every man-cave in America will soon be dressing up living
rooms, bedrooms and family rooms with its new personalized
crystal #1 Fan Photo Frame. Team
Sports America—the go-to guys for licensed
patio, garden and pool items—is introducing a program
that delivers a unique, team-identified item to fans while
helping stores forge new relationships with their customers.
“We
send the retailer samples of the two different styles along
with order forms,” explains National Sales Manager
David McQuilliams. “The customer pays the store,
then emails us with the attached image they would like
internally engraved, along with their favorite team. In
around a week the frame is available for pickup at the
store.”
Sports
Licensing & Tailgate Show Reaping Benefits
on Road to Mandalay New
Venue Offers Greater Value & Flexibility
When
the going gets tough, the tough get going—in this
case to Las Vegas, where the Sports
Licensing & Tailgate Show has officially
locked in dates for 2010. The industry’s biggest
trade event will be held January 20–22, 2010 at Mandalay
Bay.
“Over
the years, the consumer’s passion for sports has
always buoyed the licensed industry through ups and downs
in the economy,” says Stanley Schwartz, Show Director. “At
the 2009 show we heard cautious optimism from companies
known for their resilience and creative thinking. There
were also several major success stories on the show floor.
Our job is to stay lean and mean, and to keep that momentum
building into the 2010 show.”'
Brain
Storm My
Domz Making Headway in Licensed Headwear
Talk
about having a head for business. Roy Sharda and Jay Dhillon,
the founders of My
Domz, are two of the headiest players in the
licensed sports industry, especially when they’re
wearing company product—authentic replica headwear
of a school’s football helmet.
“The
response to My Domz has been excellent,” says Sharda.
Indeed, from the response at this year’s Sports Licensing & Tailgate
Show to marketing trips to college campuses across the
Midwest, the company has found an energetic and motivated
customer base.
Frame
Up Church
Hill Classics Makes the Memories Last
This
year alone Church
Hill Classics will handcraft more than 110,000
frames. A significant portion of those will be licensed,
insignia diploma frames for the collegiate marketplace. “Virtually
everything we frame is done to exacting, high-quality standards,” says
Church Hill Vice President Joe Voves. “This includes
museum quality matting, mounting, glazing and rigorous
QC inspecting.”
Thanks
to a creative marketing approach, Church Hill has discovered
a host of applications for its frames—all of which
open additional revenue steams for the company’s
retail partners. For example, high school students can
celebrate the milestone of earning a varsity letter. College
athletes can commemorate a championship season. Sports
collectors can forever cherish a priceless piece of memorabilia.
Programmed
for Success J.
America Combines High Fashion with High Margins
If
you’re a retailer of collegiate licensed apparel
that’s interested in good margins, then J.
America is a very familiar name to you. Known
for its crisp, clean graphics, the company offers a full
line of top-tier sportswear, including basic, women’s,
vintage and headwear. According to National Sales Director
Jim McCollough, J. America’s primary focus is the
bottom line of its retail partners.
“We
try to sell within programs that provide larger margins
for our customers,” he says.
A
Touch of Glass Deep
Etching and High Class from Artistic Glass Design
It’s
the day of the big game. You’ve been planning all
week for your tailgate party. Your spread is sumptuous,
and you’re decked out in your team’s colors
from head to toe. Then you pull out a sleeve of generic
plastic cups. The scene is suddenly compromised.
“That’s
our target audience,” says Trish Wampler, VP of Sales & Marketing
for Artistic
Glass Design. “Successful alumni and
fans who are ready to step up to high-end licensed glassware.”
Banner
Year Ahead for Winning Streak Sports Vintage
Wool Products Hanging Tough
One
of the busiest booths in Las Vegas—and not surprisingly—one
of the busiest companies post-show has been Winning Streak
Sports, which has been manufacturing classic wool pennants
and banners for more than a decade. Winning Streak drew
lots of attention at the Sports Licensing and Tailgate
Show with its new Heritage Collection of banners. Each
shows the evolution of a team’s logo over the decades.
Appetite
for Success Wabash
Valley Farms Pursues New Markets with Popcorn-Themed Products
Of
all the exhibitors at the 2009 Sports Licensing and Tailgate
Show, none had more “pop” than Wabash
Valley Farms. Of course, what would you expect
from the maker of the original Whirley Pop Popcorn Popper?
“Looking
around the show floor, we didn’t see another product
comparable to ours,” says Tom Ancil, who oversees
sales and promotional opportunities for Wabash Valley Farms. ‘We
occupy a unique spot in the marketplace.”
The
company arrived in Las Vegas eager to learn more about
the licensed sports and tailgating industries—and
to show off its line of fun and easy-to-use products. Wabash
Valley Farms is best known for the Whirley Pop, an old-fashioned
popcorn popper that works anywhere. “The Whirley
Pop is perfect for tailgating,” says Ancil. “Lots
of people take it on the road in their RVs.”
Quality
Buyers Drive Success of Show
Retailers Get Down to Serious Business
When
the doors swung open on the Sports Licensing & Tailgate
Show Wednesday morning, the truth is no one knew exactly
what to expect. As Day Three wheeled into action, exhibitors
had seen enough to draw specific conclusions.
The
consensus on the buyers who were shopping the show was
that they were highly focused on finding and buying new
products. The buyers themselves confirmed this—for
them this was a serious buying show, not a Vegas vacation.
“We
make a huge year-round effort to bring in quality buyers,” said
Show Director Ann Keusch. “In a climate like this,
that effort makes all the difference. There are thousands
of terrific new money-making products here, and from what
we are hearing and seeing no one was shy about spending
money to bring that product into their stores.”
‘Why
They Buy’ Panelists May Ask More of Retailers, But
Will Continue Purchasing Licensed Products in Trying Times
More than
100 buyers, retailers and manufacturers joined a group of
fans Thursday for the “Why They Buy” luncheon
presentation at the Sports Licensing & Tailgate Show.
Jack Smith served as moderator, noting at the opening of the
panel discussion that more than 400 thousand Brett Favre jerseys
were sold after Favre joined the Jets in 2008. The growth
in the sporting goods business, Smith said, will be in licensed
products.
According
to the six panelists—made up of four men and two women—that
will depend on how retailers chase their business in the coming
years. They agreed that stores needed to be more user-friendly
and concentrate on customer service. Now more than ever, a
trained staff, human beings answering the phones, and a better
use of websites and emails will determine where they shop
and what they pay.
Buyers
Writing Business as Show Gets Off to Solid Start
America’s
unquenchable thirst for sports was on display Wednesday in
Las Vegas on opening day of the Sports Licensing & Tailgate
Show. Thousands of innovative and imaginative new products
were presented to the industry, which is counting on the passion
and pocketbooks of millions of fans to keep it humming during
trying times. Exhibitors were upbeat in the opening hours,
as retailers flooded the aisles and got right down to business.
“These people are buying,” observed Jack Smith,
who led a group of retailers on his Tour de Force. “When
you see some of the items here it’s unbelievable—these
are things consumers will be spending their dollars on.”
Sitting
is Believing TaleGator
Hoping to Emerge as Licensed Stalwart
TaleGator
arrived at the Sports Licensing & Tailgate Show last January
knowing it had found the perfect audience for its innovative
seating system. Inventor Joe Fournier had originally created
the product because he had spent far too many uncomfortable
hours sitting on the tailgate of his truck watching his kids
at soccer games and other sporting events. As Keith Leigh-Monstevens
says, “We are selling fun, not just a big plastic molded
seat.”
The outlook for TaleGator has improved even more in the months
since. Former NFL star Lomas Brown and Jack Lengyel, the legendary
coach who took over the Marshall football program after the
team’s tragic plane crash in 1970, have both thrown
their weight behind the project. Brown was actually on hand
when TaleGator made its debut in Las Vegas. He and Lengyel
are now key players in the latest news on the product.
Identify
Yourself LuggageSpotters
Hit the Licensed Sports Marketplace
You’ve
been there before—standing at an airport baggage carousel
and watching as one look-alike bag after another passes before
your eyes. The elderly woman who tied the bright pink ribbon
around her suitcase is the only one who spots her luggage.
Then, of course, she asks you for a helping hand because she
has completely over packed.
Rico
Industries/Tag Express—which
will exhibit at the Sports Licensing and Tailgate Show in
January—has come to the rescue. The company now offers
LuggageSpotters, a patented comfort grip that attaches to
luggage of all kinds and makes them easy to identify. Rico
has gone one step better by licensing LuggageSpotters. They
are currently available in a full selection of NCAA, NFL,
NBA, NHL and MLB teams. Rico has plans to roll out NASCAR
product in spring of 2009.
A
Clear Advantage LDT
Import-Export Enters Licensed Marketplace with Crystal Wear
Getting
into the licensed sports business is sometimes a muddled decision.
Other times, it’s crystal clear. That’s an appropriate
way to describeLDT
Import-Export’s entry into the marketplace.
A provider of beautiful glass crystal wear, LDT is a relative
newcomer to the licensed industry. According to Rick Esposito,
the company is glad it made the leap.
“Initially,
we pursued licensing as more of an add-on,” he says.
“We wanted sustainability. We’ve found that there
are no borders to fan loyalty. New markets continue to open
for us.”
The
Sweet Taste of Success Promotion
In Motion Prepares for Debut at Sports Licensing & Tailgate
Show
Walk
into any movie theater across the country, and you’re
likely to see a product from Promotion
In Motion. Founded in 1980 by Michael Rosenberg,
the company is one of North America’s most recognizable
manufacturers and marketers of confections, fruit snacks,
fruit rolls, snack and specialty foods. Among PIM’s
licensed brands are such well-known names as Welch’s
Fruit Snacks, Sour Jacks Sour Candies, Sun-Maid Milk Chocolate
Raisins and Fisher Milk Chocolate Peanuts.
PIM has also made headways in sports licensing, says Jeff
Scudillo, Vice President of Special Markets. For example,
the company offers a candy product called Speed Strips under
the NASCAR brand. This license is a perfect tie-in for PIM
as it prepares for its debut at the Sports Licensing &
Tailgate Show.
Small
Wonders Little
Guys Can Hit the Big Time in Las Vegas
For
many of the start-ups and smaller companies that exhibit at
the Sports Licensing & Tailgate Show each year, there
exists a real opportunity to be discovered and take a business
to the next level. Russell Meyerowitz knows this better than
anyone. He arrived in Las Vegas last January eager to introduce
On Fire Beer Pong to the industry. Meyerowitz made quite an
impression, thanks in part to the bevy of beauties on hand
at his booth.
But
the real shock waves of his participation in the show weren’t
felt for a few months. In April, On Fire was acquired by College
Tonight and then rebranded as Quad Pong. At the
heart of College Tonight is The Quad, a free web platform
that caters specifically to the college experience. Meyerowitz
is now the Director of The Shop, the Quad’s retail store.
College
Retailers Give Nod to Licensed Nightshirts Emerson
Street a Sleeper No More
Emerson
Street always
wanted to go into the collegiate business. The company that
invented the sleepwear-in-a-bag concept already had product
in over 3,000 stores, and retailers were clamoring for something
that would tap into the passion and purchasing might of the
licensed sports market—with the art and humor of cartoonist
Emerson Quillin. So the company introduced a line of licensed
nightshirts that quickly expanded to 77 schools, and it has
been a hit both on and off campuses nationwide.
“We
felt strongly it would be a winner,” says Dale Rotar,
head of Product Development for Emerson Street, “and
it’s been very successful."
Have
a Drink on Holland Bar Stool Michigan
Manufacturer Enters the Licensed Sports Biz
Attendees
at next year’s Sports Licensing & Tailgate Show
can mark another stop on their agendas. Holland Bar Stool
has announced the launch of licensed sports product with about
30 schools. The company will make its official industry debut
in Las Vegas in January.
“We’re very excited,” says Arie Vink, Holland’s
National Sales Manager. “The show will be a great opportunity
to introduce ourselves to the industry. We plan on meeting
a lot of people in the business.”
We
Want U U
Gift Shop Hits Licensed Market with Unique Products
What
does the U in U
Gift Shop stand for? There are plenty of ways
to answer that question, says company president Ben White.
To some, U means the ultimate gift shop. To others, it represents
the more than 70 universities and colleges U Gift Shop has
in the fold.'
To
White, however, U has a distinct meaning. “We are the
home for unique college products,” he says.
You’ve
Got a Friend Fremont
Die Debuts the Tackle Buddy
Launching
a product in a new category gives any company a moment of
pause. Fortunately, Tom Jones, the Director of Marketing and
Sales at Fremont
Die, is no longer holding his breath. The company’s
latest offering, the Tackle Buddy – Bop Bag, has passed
every test with flying colors—not to mention the colors
of NFL and college teams.
“This
is our first venture into the toy category,” says Jones.
“The Tackle Buddy is doing really well. This is a great
market for us to get into.”
Setting
the Table Jersey
Naps Help Retailers Tap into Female Consumer
Women
are sometimes an overlooked consumer in the licensed sports
marketplace. But given their role in family purchasing decisions,
this can be a costly mistake. That is one of the reasons why
Jersey
Naps has become such a valuable supplier for
retailers nationwide.
“Jersey
Naps resonate with women,” says Chief Marketing Officer
Will Katz. “The reaction we get is consistent—Jersey
Naps are the cutest thing they’ve ever seen. That drives
an emotional connection to the product.”
Darryl
(Run DMC) McDaniels ROKs the House at The Sports
Licensing & Tailgate Show
Sports
Licensing and Tailgate Show attendees raised
a little hell at the opening night Tailgate
Party, hosted by future Rock n Roll Hall of
Famer Darryl “DMC” McDaniels at
the ROK Vegas nightclub Wednesday evening.
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