February 06, 2018
Philly Promo Companies Scrambling to Meet Merch Demand
As long-suffering Philadelphia Eagles fans celebrated their team’s Super Bowl victory, promotional product companies in the Philadelphia area were scrambling to churn out T-shirts and more to meet the staggering demand for championship gear.
“Orders came through all night,” said Ori Cohen, owner of online vendor Cheesesteaktees.com. “This is bigger than Christmas or Cyber Monday for us.”
Mitch Modell, CEO of Modell’s Sporting Goods, told ESPN that he expected to do at least 10 times better business with the Eagles winning versus if the Patriots had won. With 28 stores in what he considers to be Eagles territory, and the unbridled enthusiasm of the passionate fan base, Modell said this will be his company’s all-time best championship sales.
Photo courtesy of Philly Phaithful
“The stakes were so high because we took so much risk,” said Modell, who preprinted more than he ever has for such a big underdog. If the Eagles lost, he said, everything would have been thrown out. Instead, it was ready to go as the stores opened immediately upon the Eagles clinching their first Super Bowl title. Those stores reopened again at 5 a.m.
Dan Hershberg, owner of online vendor Philly Phaithful, made the voyage to Minneapolis to watch the game in person. He and his friends flew to Des Moines, IA, then drove four hours to U.S. Bank Stadium, witnessed history, and then drove back to Des Moines to catch a flight back to Philly around 4:30 a.m.
“It was amazing,” Hershberg said. “It was everything you hoped for as an Eagles fan.”
Philly Phaithful strays from licensed apparel and instead focuses solely on original designs. Hershberg has graphic designers execute his concepts, and then uses a local screen printer in Delaware County, PA, for fulfillment. In addition to selling through the company’s website, the company partners with seven storefronts throughout Philadelphia and surrounding areas.
Before the Super Bowl, Philly Phaithful released a “Fly Eagles Fly” T-shirt, incorporating the Super Bowl Roman numerals LII and the eagle emoji, to a thunderous response. “Anything Eagles-related is doing gangbusters,” Hershberg said. “The amount of preorders has been pretty incredible.”
Shibe Vintage Sports is located in the heart of Center City Philadelphia, where thousands upon thousands of fans celebrated into the early morning hours. With windows covered up for safety precautions, the staff had a post-game party with family and friends. “The festivities spilled over to us at 13th and Walnut, but people were generally well-behaved,” said co-owner Brian Michael.
The retailer and custom lettering shop was cleaned out over the weekend, Michael said, as fans scooped up the popular “Philadelphia Underdogs” T-shirts. In addition to supporting their team, fans supported a good cause – a portion of the proceeds of the shirts went to the Morris Animal Refuge in Philadelphia. “We’re trying to keep up as much as possible,” Michael said. “Luckily, we have a lot of new designs coming in before the parade on Thursday.”
Gregg Dabrow, president of All Day Long Apparel Company in Furlong, PA, said he couldn’t ask for a better push in sales. “We make all our shirts to order, so production has been very busy,” Dabrow said. In the weeks leading up to The Big Game, the shop produced a grey T-shirt with the Eagles logo and “Dilly Dilly” emblazoned across the front. Dabrow said that the championship shirt will look similar, but say “Dilly Did It!” with an image of the Lombardy trophy.
Fanatics, which has run the NFL shop for more than a decade, said the Eagles’ victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII is projected to lead to the second-best championship sales in its history, falling right behind the Chicago Cubs’ World Series title in 2016, ESPN reported. Sales in the first nine hours after the game were up 60% compared to the first nine hours for the Patriots’ championship victory last year.
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