By Sara Germano and Andrew Beaton
U.S. soccer star Landon Donovan was cut from the World Cup
roster. But at Niketown, he's still part of the team.
Mr. Donovan is one of a couple of players whose jerseys hang at
some of Nike's retail stores. That's an anomaly following the
surprise move by head coach Jurgen Klinsmann to leave the U.S.
national team's all-time leading scorer out of the World Cup
matches in Brazil, which begin Thursday afternoon.
The now-out-of-date jerseys reflect Mr. Donovan's status as one
of the team's longest-serving and most recognized veterans. But
they also help explain why player-specific soccer gear is so hard
to come by, unlike that of football and basketball stars.
American interest in soccer typically spikes around the
quadrennial World Cup, but it hasn't been strong enough for
sporting-goods retailers to stock their shelves with jerseys of top
players. It doesn't help that few U.S. players are household names
and that the national team's roster isn't finalized until a few
weeks before the big tournament.
Nike, which holds the licensing rights to the U.S. team jerseys,
says it doesn't sell ready-printed player-specific jerseys to
wholesale customers like sporting-goods stores. The company says it
makes a small quantity of preprinted jerseys to display in its own
stores.
Mr. Donovan's is one. Another is that of team captain Clint
Dempsey.
Edward Albertian, chief executive of retailer City Sports, said
that World Cup merchandise is a must-have for the chain's primary
customers, mostly urban professionals who want to indulge their
soccer-crazed children. Demand is even higher this year, given that
most of the matches in Brazil will be broadcast live. City Sports
expects sales of about $2 million, nearly double that from the
previous World Cup in 2010.
Still, World Cup gear is a "dramatic commitment to inventory,"
made all the riskier, Mr. Albertian says, when there are a lot of
moving parts, including Mr. Donovan's last-minute cut, the weakness
of some traditionally strong teams like Mexico, and the uncertainty
about who will advance.
"To have a shirt that says Brazil or Italia is better than
having any name on it," he said. "That's a slippery slope."
Other big chains follow a similar strategy. Visits to Modell's
and Sports Authority yielded jerseys for countries such as
Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands,
Portugal and the U.S. But all the jerseys were generic, without
player names or numbers on the back.
Jason Karlowski, manager of sports marketing and public
relations for Modell's Sporting Goods, said the chain sells all of
its national-team jerseys without individual players' names, based
on customer preference.
"We find that many of the fans are purchasing based upon their
heritage, and that wearing their nation's colors proudly is more
important than player preference," he said.
Charlie Brooks, a spokesman for Nike, said customers looking for
specific jerseys can customize their purchases--on Nike's website,
for example.
As for Donovan jerseys, "there may be a small number of jerseys
with names preprinted onto them at our own stores for display
purposes, but it would be a very small quantity," Mr. Brooks
said.
Retail sales of licensed sports jerseys last year amounted to $3
billion, or roughly 14% of the overall sports-apparel market,
according to data from industry tracker SportsOneSource. World Cup
merchandise is a small category in the U.S., said Matt Powell of
SportsOneSource.
"We have never seen a significant amount of World Cup products
sold," he said. "They're competing with a lot of sports that are
playing all the time."
At a suggested retail price of $90, the jerseys are about as
expensive as those sold for other professional sports with more
established U.S. fan bases.
Mr. Donovan's fate highlights the risks. City Sports didn't
carry Donovan jerseys, but did sell T-shirts bearing his name for
about $30. Lauren Blanda, the chain's general manager for
merchandise, said that when Mr. Donovan left the team, demand for
his gear went with him.
"It's safe to say it's died off," Ms. Blanda added.
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