From
MarketWatch.
Knicks guard’s jersey is NBA’s top seller since February
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — For his aunt’s first-ever New York Knicks game last Wednesday, Antonio Yu shelled out $560 for a pair of tickets, and, to be certain they were appropriately dressed for the occasion, he paid $250 apiece for two officially licensed Jeremy Lin jerseys.
While the atmosphere of “Linsanity” surrounding the point-guard phenom may have died down somewhat on the hardwood, on the commercial side there still appears to be plenty of passion.
During Wednesday night’s win over the Portland Trail Blazers at Madison Square Garden, which snapped a six-game Knicks losing streak, many fans were donned No. 17 jerseys and T-shirts, some of them waving posters saying “Lincredible” and “Bal-Lin’.”
Lin merchandise dominated the Knicks concession stands and featured prominently in in-store displays.
Since Lin’s Feb. 4 breakout game, sales at online Knicks-linked stores — which carry about 50 Lin-related items — have surged fortyfold, while sales at the arena are up 70%, according to management, with Lin-related gear accounting for about half of online sales and about a third of in-arena sales.
“I’m just thankful,” Lin said in a postgame locker-room interview, adding that he has not even seen all the products carrying his name. “I love the fans. I love their enthusiasm. I just like it when people are creative. They make funny posters and stuff like that. I enjoy that.”
According to the National Basketball Association, Lin’s jersey has been the league’s top seller for well over a month, catapulting sales of Knicks team gear to the top spot.
The Knicks held a 39% peak market share of the $3 billion NBA merchandise market in the week ended Feb. 25, when Lin merchandise reached stores nationwide, said Matt Powell, an analyst at SportsOneSource.
Though demand has slowed since then, the Knicks are still No. 1, at about 26.5% of the market, a level Powell said the team can be expected to maintain through the year.
He added that he doesn’t expect sales of Lin merchandise to suffer from the sudden departure Wednesday of Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni. (Lin has credited D’Antoni for giving him the chance to showcase his skills, stirring speculation that D’Antoni’s exit could signal the end of Linsanity.)
If the Knicks manage to defend their newly won NBA-merchandise-sales market share, that would more than double the 10% share the club held last year, Powell said. As recently as 2009, Knicks gear accounted for a mere 1.5% of overall league sales.
Even though Lin’s on-court streak has cooled, Powell predicted that interest will remain. “The No. 1 market share is an indicator of continued [Lin] interest.”
Through Friday, Madison Square Garden Co., parent of the Knicks, had seen its shares advance 13% since early February, compared with a 4.4% increase of the S&P over the same period.
Read more at
MarketWatch.
Comments