Thursday, January 9, 1997

Packers gaining on Cowboys in national merchandise sales

By NANCY MILLMAN / Chicago Tribune (Jan. 9, 1997)

CHICAGO - Will the cheesehead ever become a national phenomenon?

The green and gold of the Green Bay Packers is the hottest color scheme for paraphernalia the National Football League licenses. And if the Packers get to the Super Bowl, even the silly cheeseheads could catch on outside of Wisconsin.

The Dallas Cowboys have led the league in merchandise sales the last several years, topping out at more than 25 percent of the market last year. But sales of Cowboys items have declined to closer to 20 percent, said Mike Nichols, editor of Team Licensing Business in Phoenix.

Sales of Cowboys items have been hurt more by the team's performance - they lost three of their first four games and finished 10-6, their worst record in six years - than by the news stories of team members' involvement in drugs and alleged criminal activities, sports marketing experts say.

The national chain Sportmart does not even carry the jersey of Cowboy Michael Irvin, who pleaded no contest to a cocaine charge this year. But fans still want to buy shirts with the numbers of stars like quarterback Troy Aikman, retailers say.

"Those factors have an effect in the short term," said Sean Brenner, editor of Team Marketing Report, based in Chicago.

But team and individual players' performance is the key to merchandise sales.

Green Bay is hot "because it's still in the national eye - people are enamored of the Packers' mystique and their making it back to postseason glory," Brenner said.

Fueled by the feeding frenzy that started in Wisconsin and has spread nationally, Packers merchandise has climbed to the No. 2 spot in NFL sales for the period ending in October, the NFL said.

Sportmart, a retailer with 70 stores across the country, is preparing for next year by "shifting dollars from Cowboys merchandise to the Packers," said senior buyer Donald Goldblatt. "They performed well enough this year to start next year with a big fan base."

NFL licensed merchandise accounts for about $3 billion in retail sales, but only about 65 percent is team-related apparel, a league spokesman said. The array of 1,000 products includes everything from footballs and trading cards to computer mouse pads.

The league collects a royalty - about 10 percent - on the wholesale price of the items sold by the 275 licensees. The proceeds are distributed equally to the 30 teams in the league.

Even in Chicago, where the Packers are regarded as the Bears' arch rivals, the market for the green and gold is brisk.

"Our Packers business in Chicago increased about fourfold in December," Goldblatt said. 'A year ago it was 4-1, Bears to Packers. This year it is even."

The Packers are a marketing trifecta, said NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy. The combination of their performance on the field, the stature of two-time MVP Brett Favre and the team's tradition is fueling the hunger for merchandise.

And when a player like Favre gets exposure in national magazines such as Esquire and People, as he has recently, it extends the team's marketability to people who don't even like to watch the games.

As for the cheeseheads: Sportmart doesn't carry them yet. But the Super Bowl isn't until Jan. 26.