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Rags
to Riches Journey
Beginning for NCAA
License Holder
Dish Rags the Latest Craze for TV Sports
Fans
September 12, 2006
Millions of sports fans follow their favorite teams by receiving a rooftop satellite TV signal. Now they can use the same device to send a signal of their own with Dish Rags, a satellite TV dish cover emblazoned with their team’s logo. With more than 25 million dishes already in use, points out company co-owner Joe Reid, the sky is literally the limit for this product.
“It’s an opportunity for retailers to increase incremental revenue with something they can point to as being a legitimately new item in licensed sports,” says Reid.
What kind of reception has the product enjoyed at retail? Reid recounts the story of a Baton Rouge dealer with whom he left product samples recently: “He placed an LSU Dish Rag on the dish attached to his shelf where the product is displayed, and before he got down the ladder there was a customer waiting to buy it,” he says. “Needless to say, as soon as you see it, you understand it.”
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Dish Rags fit both Direct TV and Dish Network hardware, and a new size designed for the larger HDTV dishes will follow soon. As of September, about three dozen NCAA schools were available, with many more to come.
Reid and partner Tony Bello come out of the cable TV industry, where one of the sales pitches has long been, “Why would you want one of those ugly dishes on your roof?” This proved the impetus for the Dish Rags idea, which the two men launched late in 2005. They expect to pursue pro sports licenses in 2007.
Dish Rags retail from $19.95 to $24.95, and come packaged in a colorful VHS-sized box. They wholesale for around $10 and the company owns the Florida factory where they are produced.
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Dish Rags is relaunching its web site to drive consumers to its retailers, and plans to show countertop and stand-up point-of-sale pieces at the Sports Licensing & Entertainment Marketplace in Las Vegas this November. Reid adds that retailers shopping the ATA Tailgate • Picnic Show should also make a point of coming by the Dish Rags booth.
“You can make a double sale to these customers,” he says. “One for the home, and one for the RV.”
