Who said the consumer was dead? Apparently they all just decided to spend their money on NBA merchandise. While you cannot really benefit off it investment-wise, it is still nice to know that there are still people out there spending money.
Every year the NBA releases the most popular sold jersey. This year was Kobe Bryant, and why would it not be (but that is different story for another day)?
Another interesting fact that the NBA stated was that December 2008 was their best month in sales EVER! I’ll be the first to tell you that I am probably responsible for half those sales. I personally bought tons of things for mysef and almost everything gifted to me was from the NBA store.
As of recent, we have seen that even our pro sport leagues are not immune to these harsh economic times. Many pro sports are canceling seasons (arena football league) or going bankrupt (Phoenix Coyotes). The WNBA’s best team went poof, and the Carolina Panthers are even reclaiming personal seat licenses for holders who did not purchase playoff tickets.
For the NBA store, sales were up a staggering 10% from last year, which leads me to believe that the consumer is not completely dead. They just love their basketball.
Anybody know what kind of numbers were released from other pro sport stores (i.e. NFL Store)?