When a professional league isn’t in session, people buy less of the league’s product.
It’s as simple as that.
So it should come as no surprise that the prolonged NBA lockout is costing Adidas, the NBA’s official jersey and apparel maker, millions of dollars.
$50 million dollars, in fact.
That’s how much money an industry analyst says the brand could lose if the NBA season were canceled.
“Overall, sales of NBA licensed products fell by 20% last week, and I view that as the beginning of the fall because of the lockout,” Matt Powell, an analyst at SportsOneSource, told Reuters.
Adidas has made tremendous strides in the basketball market thanks to the rising popularity of endorsers like Derrick Rose and its innovative marketing techniques.
People will always buy basketball shoes. But the buyer’s market for jerseys and other apparel has dried up as marketable stars spend their time politicking and not playing.
NBA fans aren’t even allowed to buy jerseys of their team’s latest draftees. Rookies haven’t officially signed with their respective organizations – obviously a necessary step in the production of their jersey.
With the holiday season approaching, easily retailer’s most profitable months, the loss of basketball beyond Christmas would be costly for Adidas and the stores the global brand counts on to sell its product.
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