The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Fanatics announced the opening of the first NBA Store in the UK, located at 14-16 Foubert’s Place in London’s Carnaby, Soho shopping district.
Opening on Friday, the store features a full range of official NBA and WNBA merchandise and memorabilia, including exclusive NBA products, apparel, jerseys, headwear, sporting goods, toys, and collectibles from major brands including Mitchell & Ness, New Era, Nike, and Wilson. The store also features a customization service where customers can personalize NBA jerseys and hats for all teams.
The two-floor store is operated by Lids, which is partly owned by Fanatics. As part of the NBA’s partnership with Fanatics, three additional stores operated by Lids worldwide are scheduled to open in the next 18 months.
“Ahead of our 75th anniversary season, we are excited to welcome fans to the first NBA Store in the UK,” said NBA EME Director, Global Partnerships Steve Griffiths. “UK fans are true connoisseurs of the game and through our partnership with Fanatics, fans of all ages will be able to celebrate their love of the NBA with an extensive range of official and exclusive merchandise.”
“The NBA is becoming increasingly popular in the UK, and we have seen some really strong growth across our online sites, with UK sales on NBAStore.EU growing significantly in the last five years,” said General Manager, Fanatics International Business, Zohar Ravid. “Opening the first-ever physical NBA retail store in London, combining our vertical product and e-commerce strengths with Lids’ high street execution, is a logical step and clearly within Fanatics’ strategy of expanding teams and leagues omnichannel presence so fans globally are served in the best way.”
“At Lids, we are excited to leverage our retail expertise by opening a new NBA Store in London,” said Lawrence Berger, chairman of FanzzLids Holdings, owner and operator of Lids. “We are bringing the latest styles in headwear and apparel, plus our ability to customize hats and jerseys real-time in-store. We also look forward to opening additional international locations.”
The NBA also has official stores in Brazil, China, Italy, Mexico, and Qatar and its flagship NBA store in the U.S. in New York City. The NBA has more than 400 NBA-branded retail stores and attractions worldwide.
Photo courtesy NBA
