Anyone watching the NBA Finals knows there is little doubt as to who is the NBAs next big superstar, but a look at licensed product sales after The Finals this year erased any doubt as to who is the superstar of sales as well. According to recent point-of sale data compiled by SportScanINFO, Dwyane Wade of the NBA champion Miami Heat had the top selling jersey for the last four weeks, regardless of league. The NBA confirmed last week that Wade finished the season as the leagues most popular jersey, based on sales at NBAStore.com and the NBA Store.
The NBA said the NBAStore.com saw its “highest grossing sales day in the history of the site” the day after the Heat clinched the title, easily outpacing the previous record set the day after the Detroit Pistons won The Finals in 2004. The one-day record was up 41% from the Piston milestone and the NBA reported that post-championship sales were up 70% over last year when the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Pistons.
Joining Dwyane Wade at the top of the SportScanINFO Top Sellers list for the past four weeks are Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks and Tayshaun Prince of the Detroit Pistons. Other notable names at the top of the list are Shaquille ONeal, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, and Manu Genobili. Based on the NBAstore.com data, Wade was joined by James, Bryant, Allen Iverson, and Shaq in the top five jerseys.
Based on the SportScanINFO data, the top spot among the best selling teams over the past few weeks has been flipping between the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat. Most recently, the Mavs were generating 26% of the total licensed product sales, while the Heat was hanging tough at 20% of the total. The numbers for the Heat are expected to jump over this week as fans purchase their NBA Finals Championship hats and Championship Locker Room tees. The NBA said sales of Miami Heat championship t-shirts and hats surpassed the highest previous total, which occurred after the Detroit Pistons 2004 victory, by 68% and more than doubled last years championship merchandise totals.
Immediately after the game, hats were reportedly selling for as high as $30.00 retail with t-shirts coming in around the same price. That alone should generate a nice incremental revenue jump for Reebok and the NBA. For the year, the Pistons, Heat, and Cavaliers are the top three best selling teams for the NBA, based on the SportScanINFO data.
In other licensed product news, Major League Baseball has signed a licensing agreement with Eternal Image, Inc., authorizing the company to reproduce the names and logos of all 30 major league teams on a new line of caskets and urns. The products are in the development phase and delivery is planned for 2007.
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