Hockey history is full of iconic rivalries, and the newest one is currently underway: fans vs. the official provider of NHL merchandise.
What happened: With Adidas out, Nike probably uninterested, and legacy hockey brands like CCM and Bauer not up to the task, sports apparel company Fanatics has inked a decade-long deal to supply all on-ice NHL uniforms and retail jerseys starting in 2024.
- Fanatics was the most logical choice for the NHL, as a company with experience outfitting pro leagues and given the two are already in cahoots with a licensing deal.
You may not have heard of it, but Fanatics is big. It's a US$31 billion monopoly in the making as the officially licensed partner for the NFL, MLB, NBA, MLS, and pretty much every sports acronym you can think of. The company wants to become "the Amazon of sports."
- In addition to licensing deals, Fanatics all but cornered the booming sports trading card market after it bought Topps in 2022 and is looking to expand into gambling.
Yes, but: Complaints about the poor quality of Fanatics-made apparel products are frequent. Like really frequent. While player jerseys will come from the same Québec factory as the previous Adidas ones were, fans will now rely on a shoddy supplier for their official merch
Why it matters: The trend towards junkier merchandise spans beyond sports. From fashion to tech, products just aren't the quality they once were as materials get costlier and mass production outweighs functionality. Maybe it’s time to bring back the humble foam finger?—QH