What's up with the Barclays Center's stalled Swag Shop? And why does Coney Island shop lack Isles merch?
A possible explanation: both the NBA and NHL are going to new equipment suppliers and merchandise retailers: from Adidas Nets and Reebok Islanders to NBA from Nike and NHL from Adidas.
Yes, it's off-season, but the Swag Shop at the Barclays Center--formerly the Nets team store, then augmented to include Islanders merchandise--seems to be undergoing a longer than usual reboot.
Consider the photos above right, from 5/16/17, and below left, from 6/4/17.
Surely they're restocking the store, and perhaps they're rethinking the overall enterprise.
After all, Nets merchandise, at least, is no longer the hot ticket it once was.
Photo from today (updated 9:45 pm)
At least it looks like the stores has since been emptied.
A photo taken today, at right, shows much cleaner and emptier store
And what about the Coney shop?
On Friday, 6/9/17, I was in Coney Island and took a peek at what's now called the Coney Island Swag Shop but called the Nets shop, as of last year.
It opened in May 2013, the first Coney season after the Barclays Center debut.
Despite the more inclusive name, as shown in the first photo below, the store has no Islanders merchandise, as shown in the second photo, which keeps signage indicating "Nets Shop, by adidas."
OK, hockey is very much not the summer game.
And, yes, basketball and the Nets have a greater connection to Coney--after all, Nets player Isaiah Whitehead is from Coney and the shop hosted his press conference last year.
But if the arena operators wanted to maintain some interest in the Islanders, well, why not devote at least a corner of the space to hockey merchandise?
A lot of people come through Coney each summer. Surely some have some interest in hockey. The Coney Island store is typically open through Labor Day, the end of the daily Coney beach and amusement area season.
Yes, it's off-season, but the Swag Shop at the Barclays Center--formerly the Nets team store, then augmented to include Islanders merchandise--seems to be undergoing a longer than usual reboot.
Consider the photos above right, from 5/16/17, and below left, from 6/4/17.
Surely they're restocking the store, and perhaps they're rethinking the overall enterprise.
After all, Nets merchandise, at least, is no longer the hot ticket it once was.Photo from today (updated 9:45 pm)
At least it looks like the stores has since been emptied.A photo taken today, at right, shows much cleaner and emptier store
And what about the Coney shop?
On Friday, 6/9/17, I was in Coney Island and took a peek at what's now called the Coney Island Swag Shop but called the Nets shop, as of last year.
It opened in May 2013, the first Coney season after the Barclays Center debut.
Despite the more inclusive name, as shown in the first photo below, the store has no Islanders merchandise, as shown in the second photo, which keeps signage indicating "Nets Shop, by adidas."
OK, hockey is very much not the summer game.And, yes, basketball and the Nets have a greater connection to Coney--after all, Nets player Isaiah Whitehead is from Coney and the shop hosted his press conference last year.
But if the arena operators wanted to maintain some interest in the Islanders, well, why not devote at least a corner of the space to hockey merchandise?
A lot of people come through Coney each summer. Surely some have some interest in hockey. The Coney Island store is typically open through Labor Day, the end of the daily Coney beach and amusement area season.
they are redisigning the whole interior with new graphics, fixtres etc. It will be done by season start.
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