Fanatics, the global e-commerce and merchandising heavyweight, set a new international (non-US but including France) sales record over the weekend after French soccer giants Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) won the UEFA Champions League (UCL) for the first time.
PSG routed Italy’s Inter Milan 5-0 at Munich’s Allianz Arena (May 31), and in the 12 hours following the victory, sales on the official PSG online merchandise store skyrocketed.
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Fanatics is the exclusive operator of PSG’s e-commerce business and is the master licensee for the entirety of its merchandising (barring Nike products and other co-branded offerings).
The 12-hour period marked the highest ever sales period at Fanatics for an individual team win outside the US.
Peaking in the hour after the victory (between 11pm and midnight CET), sales exploded 4200% on the entire previous day (May 30), and in those 12 hours, sold more merchandise than in the entire three months preceding it combined.
Buyers from over 70 countries purchased PSG merchandise, with the best-selling item naturally being the commemorative Champions League winners PSG jersey.
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By GlobalDataFanatics first agreed an e-commerce partnership with PSG in 2017, and expanded the deal in 2020 into a 10-year partnership that the two parties called "one of the most comprehensive and ambitious sports merchandising partnerships ever created."
That renewed deal expanded the partnership to include manufacturing rights and management of the club’s apparel, headwear, and hard goods licensed products.
Fanatics has also partnered with the club to launch PSG's flagship in-person stores in major cities globally, including Los Angeles and London.
The club has more than 5,000 licensed products in some 350 categories.
In recent years, PSG has attracted massive global commercial interest, in part due to its 2019 kit supply tie-up with sportswear giant Nike, through which it has leveraged the Jordan brand to cultivate global crossover appeal.
The massive sales boom will be a bonus for PSG front-of-shirt sponsor Qatar Airways (which appears on the commemorative kits), which in January 2025 renewed its partnership with the team through 2028.
It will also make for good reading for Richard Heaselgrave, who on May 13 was appointed as PSG’s chief revenue officer.
Meanwhile, Fanatics has also agreed a new partnership with Smith Entertainment Group, owner of ice hockey's Utah Mammoth and basketball's Utah Jazz.
Fanatics will serve as the official omnichannel retailer for the National Hockey League and National Basketball Association franchises, managing all retail operations end-to-end on both the newly redesigned e-commerce platforms and in-venue retail at the Delta Center arena that the teams share.
Smith Entertainment Group president for revenue and commercial strategy Chris Barney commented: "Fanatics is a global leader in sports apparel design, manufacturing, and merchandising, and we are thrilled to leverage their expertise to offer fans a completely reimagined, tech-forward shopping experience across all retail touchpoints.
"As we continue to invest in the fan experience at Delta Center and beyond, our retail strategy plays a key role in pushing boundaries and redefining how fans connect with our teams for years to come.”
Fanatics took control of Mammoth and Jazz retail operations on June 1, with the team store at Delta Center to reopen on June 9, and will offer an expanded range of Fanatics-manufactured team merchandise.
Ed O'Brien, Fanatics senior vice president of business development, added: "Utah is rapidly emerging as one of America’s most passionate sports markets."
