News about jerseys at the bookstore

[BullGrad95]

Went to the bookstore after FAD, and happened to overhear something interesting from the store manager.  Just so happened that Pres Genshaft was there looking at the jerseys with some friends/family.  She had a couple of little guys with her and they were looking at jerseys.  Someone inquired as to why there were no green Andre Hall jerseys in men's sizes.  They were told by the bookstore manager that when they were received, they were manufactured incorrectly.  It was described as "the right color green, but they used 'UCF' gold instead of our color".  That's right, she called it 'UCF' gold!  I actually heard her say that twice, so I know my ears weren't playing tricks on me.  She said they shipped them back, and since they are manufactured overseas, they probably would not have the "replica" jerseys in green men's sizes any time soon.  They have replaced the replicas, with Russell Athletic jerseys with the screen printed numbers, and they are #2 jerseys!  I decided to pick one up.  They run about $50.  So there you have it.  Back to the mystery machine!!!

[JoeB]

Nice Work 95.  For that you deserve two Scooby snacks.

[Guest]

I talked to the people selling merchandise at FAD ... here is what I was told about retail authentic jerseys...

1) USF has a shoe contract with Nike -- but Nike doesn't make a jersey in USF's green.  Imagine that!  Our color green isn't made by Nike - so USF has to use another manufacturer.

2) Now, this other manufacturer can make USF's jerseys but can't make jerseys to sell to the public.  They don't have the license from CLC.

3) So, the next question become s: who does have a license from CLC.  Well, as it turns out, there is no jersey manufacturer that has applied to CLC to have the license to make authentic jerseys for sale to the public.

4) The process to obtain the license is somewhat complicated, but it would be possible for a company (not necessarily a manfacturer) to obtain the license from CLC.  I was told that the license is a percentage of the price -- but there would need to be a siginifcant investment to pre-order a number of jerseys.

If a company, such as an on-line retail store, could obtain the license, contract with a manufacturer to make them (maybe even the same manufacturer that makes our current jerseys).  Then they could sell them to the public.

So, I am putting this out for general information.  I am sure that there will be someone out there who might see the $$ that could be made by selling authentic jerseys -- especially if a customer could order any number and any name on the back.

Go Bulls!!

[Brad]

If a company, such as an on-line retail store, could obtain the license, contract with a manufacturer to make them (maybe even the same manufacturer that makes our current jerseys).  Then they could sell them to the public.

So, I am putting this out for general information.  I am sure that there will be someone out there who might see the $$ that could be made by selling authentic jerseys -- especially if a customer could order any number and any name on the back.

The only remaining problem is whether or not there is a sizable number of Bulls fans willing to pay from $169.00 - $229.00+ or so for an authentic.

Therein lies the real challenge.  It is likely that the person bold enough to try this would have to buy a minimum lot of 72-100+ pieces.  I question whether there are that many fans ready to spend "BCS-type" money for a new jersey.  The investor could lose his shirt, but have several jerseys to auction off for nothing...   ;D

Even the bookstore, when it sold authentics in the early years, ended up selling them for 50% off.  History is not on the side of the investor that wishes to sink several thousand dollars into authentic jerseys.

[Ricky the Bull]

In other merchandizing news, "Buccaneer Heaven" is in the process of becoming "Bucs & Bulls Heaven" (or something like that) and will handle all the mechandizing.

I gave them the URL of the board here so I expect to see them on to get input on what the fans would like to see stocked.

[USFMikeB]

The only remaining problem is whether or not there is a sizable number of Bulls fans willing to pay from $169.00 - $229.00+ or so for an authentic.

The question on that would be what the margin really is.  My wife bought me an authentic Chicago Bears jersey for a b-day a couple years ago, and I saw that she paid $170 for it through the NFL online site.  If the NFL is selling them at that price, then you know that there's a good chunk of margin in them.  Now, obviously the NFL has some quantity purchasing power.

I would be interested in seeing how muc they really cost to manufacture, although my wife would probably be pissed to see me use some of our house down payment to buy USF jerseys...