Innovation
To adapt the licensed sports industry to the 24/7 on-demand economy, Fanatics pioneered a new, innovative model called Vertical Commerce or v-Commerce, which is the next generation of e-commerce.
Vertical commerce (v-Commerce) is owning, designing, producing and distributing our own exclusive merchandise, allowing Fanatics to sell unique, specialized and differentiated products that cannot be commoditized by the Internet.
This new model has allowed Fanatics to significantly broaden its roster of global partners who are looking to grow their direct-to-consumer businesses and find a better way to meet the growing real-time expectations of their fan bases by providing incredible speed to market of merchandise across all retail channels.
v-Commerce
v-Commerce has been the backbone of several transformative deals Fanatics has signed with the sports world’s preeminent leagues, including a groundbreaking deal with Nike and the NFL and MLB that kicked off in 2020. Through the partnership, Fanatics utilizes its vertical manufacturing capabilities to manufacture and distribute all Nike fan gear sold at retail for both leagues, putting a wider assortment of timely merchandise across categories into the hands of fans and retailers faster than ever before. In 2024, Fanatics began manufacturing and distributing Nike-branded apparel for its top 20-plus colleges and universities. Similar vertically integrated apparel partnerships have been signed with global sports brands including Paris Saint-Germain, the University of Notre Dame and UEFA.
Agile Supply Chain
v-Commerce requires speed – and the ability to use tech and data to be nimble enough to reach fans in the exact moment that passion is highest, especially in an industry as unpredictable as sports where players and teams can become overnight sensations. Fanatics’ on-demand manufacturing infrastructure is fueled by an agile, globally connected supply chain that has been established in several of the world’s sports-crazed markets and allows the company to easily produce and distribute merchandise in real-time as play is unfolding on the field, pitch, court and ice.
Fanatics harnesses A.I. and machine learning to predict where, when and how fans are buying their favorite gear, and utilizes incredible logistics expertise to remain readily in-stock with the most sought-after products all online and brick-and-mortar locations.