Goodbye Brooklyn Style, enter Brooklyn Fanatics: growing digital sports company Fanatics taking over Nets' e-commerce & arena store

Goodbye Brooklyn Style, how briefly we knew ye.

Barely three months after the Barclays Center team store became Brooklyn Style--after stints as the Nets Shop by Adidas and the Swag Shop at Barclays Center--enter Brooklyn Fanatics, the recently renovated Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty store.

 

Brooklyn Fanatics, Aug. 21. Photo: Norman Oder

It's all part of "an exclusive, multi-year omnichannel retail partnership with BSE Global," which owns the teams, and is surely about the Benjamins.

Fanatics is a sports merchandising and marketing company that has been galloping through the sports "space," as noted in the press release:

Fanatics is the official e-commerce partner of both the NBA and WNBA. The Nets are Fanatics’ 13th NBA e-commerce partner, with seven of those teams also partnering with Fanatics to operate in-venue retail to create an omnichannel experience.

Brooklyn Style, Aug. 9. Photo: Norman Oder

And BSE Global is part of the Fanatics-related bid for a mobile sports betting franchise in New York State.

A growing company

Fanatics describes itself as "a global leader in licensed sports merchandise... Fanatics is building the leading global digital sports platform and changing the way fans purchase their favorite team apparel, jerseys, headwear and hardgoods."

As Front Office Sports put it, "it doesn’t look like Fanatics plans on letting up until it’s taken over every conceivable element of the sports world." 

That was in response to a Wall Street Journal exclusive, With a Frenzy of Deals, Fanatics Swoops In to Reorder the Trading-Card World, describing the company's deal for baseball cards--displacing longtime partner Topps Co.--anbd basketball and football cards, which were with Panini America. The deals wiere with the players' unions, and also MLB and the NBA.

That ballcap is 32 bucks

The Nets' press release

BSE GLOBAL AND FANATICS LAUNCH OMNICHANNEL RETAIL PARTNERSHIP FOR THE BROOKLYN NETS AND NEW YORK LIBERTY

AUGUST 19, 2021 | BROOKLYN NETS

BROOKLYN - Fanatics, a global leader in licensed sports merchandise, has announced an exclusive, multi-year omnichannel retail partnership with BSE Global, becoming the official e-commerce and physical retail partner of both the Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty. Fanatics will now power online and in-person shopping experiences at Barclays Center for the NBA and WNBA teams.

Both team’s online shopping destinations – www.NetsStore.com and www.NYLibertyStore.com – will now feature the widest selection of team merchandise ever available across all categories, including jerseys, headwear, outerwear and other ancillary products. The new cutting-edge e-commerce and mobile platforms are fueled by Fanatics’ rapid Cloud Commerce Platform (CCP) and provide a smooth, seamless experience for fans.

“Brooklyn’s basketball fans are both passionate and fashion forward, and we’re excited to collaborate with BSE Global to elevate the overall shopping experience and selection of relevant products to continue building two incredible sports brands – the Nets and the Liberty,” said Ed O’Brien, Fanatics SVP of Business Development.

Fanatics will also take over all physical retail locations at Barclays Center including Brooklyn Fanatics, the recently renovated Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty store. Brooklyn Fanatics is more than 4,000 square feet with a minimalistic aesthetic and retail-first design, putting an enhanced focus on the products. Additionally, the store’s interior layout was built for ease of shopping during high-traffic, sold-out basketball games, and with completely modular fixtures, the space can easily be reimagined to host non-retail moments and activations. Throughout the 2021 NBA playoffs, the Team Store consistently broke previous in-arena sales records. Click HERE to view/download images Brooklyn Fanatics.

BSE Global will have access to Fanatics’ industry leading platform to shift inventory more seamlessly and meet the demands of fans wherever they choose to shop. Fanatics will also collaborate closely with both teams on unique, team and city-centric merchandising strategies to capitalize on trends and styles unique to Brooklyn and their respective fanbases.

“Our teams’ ability to transcend the court and permeate culture through music, art and fashion is what differentiates us as a brand,” said Michael Wandell, Chief Commercial Officer for BSE Global. “In Fanatics we’ve found a partner that can match our momentum and fuel global growth through our apparel business and retail experience. We look forward to evolving our product mix together with a unique eye towards balancing hyper-local, community-driven concepts with the global sensibilities that define our fanbase.”

During the 2020-21 NBA season, the Nets had three of the top-four selling NBA jerseys with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden, and the Nets were second in team merchandise sales in the U.S. The Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu is currently the top-selling WNBA player jersey, and the Liberty are second in WNBA team merchandise sales.

Fanatics is the official e-commerce partner of both the NBA and WNBA. The Nets are Fanatics’ 13th NBA e-commerce partner, with seven of those teams also partnering with Fanatics to operate in-venue retail to create an omnichannel experience.

Brooklyn Fanatics is open daily from noon – 5 p.m. On game days, the store will close early to the public and remain open only for ticketed guests. Customers who shop at www.NetsStore.com or www.NYLibertyStore.com can receive 20% off their purchase with code BK2021 until Sunday, Aug. 22, 2021. Some exclusions may apply. For more information, please visit www.NetsStore.com