Aston Villa extend partnership with Fanatics after significant global growth of merchandise sales
Aston Villa and Fanatics, a leading provider of licensed sports merchandise and global digital sports platform, have today announced a long-term extension to their e-commerce, retail and manufacturing deal, with the Premier League club taking advantage of Fanatics’ global footprint and state of the art technology to better serve its fans.
The deal was agreed following significant growth in Villa merchandise sales through the club’s official online store, with sales growing by more than 450% since 2017, when Fanatics and Aston Villa started working together. It will see Fanatics retain global e-commerce, stadium retail and manufacturing rights for the Premier League club, ensuring that Villa fans will have access to one of the largest ranges of merchandise in the world.
Fanatics now partners with more than 900 sports clubs and organizations in the world and has worked with Aston Villa to grow visits to the online store by more than 300% in the last four years, changing the way Villa fans purchase merchandise online through an innovative, tech-infused approach to making and selling fan gear in today’s on-demand, mobile-first society. Fanatics will also continue to operate the club retail store at Villa Park as part of the renewed deal.
Fanatics’ global network, which is now based out of thirteen countries worldwide delivered merchandise to Aston Villa fans in 85 different countries in 2021. In continuing its partnership with Fanatics, Aston Villa will use cutting edge e-commerce systems and the company’s vertical commerce model, which combines on-demand manufacturing with an agile supply chain to produce the timeliest assortments of merchandise.
Nicola Ibbetson, Aston Villa Football Club’s Chief Commercial Officer, said: “Our partnership with Fanatics has been highly successful and has experienced significant growth in recent years, so we are thrilled to have cemented this relationship through this extension of our partnership. We have seen sales grow significantly over the past few years and going forwards the focus will be on increasing the product offering for Aston Villa’s growing global fanbase and continuous improvement to the innovation and technology we can bring to the retail experience for our fans.”
The Club will also continue to utilize Fanatics’ industry leading Cloud Commerce technology which provides rapid navigation for fans across online and mobile sites. This has meant Villa fans around the world have access to faster website performance, larger hi-resolution product displays, multiple currencies and frictionless checkout, transforming the shopping experience for the club’s fans.
Danny Downs, Fanatics UK General Manager, said: “We are delighted that due to the phenomenal growth of the Aston Villa online business in recent years we are extending our relationship with this historic football club. From the moment we first partnered with Villa in 2017 we could see that the fans were incredibly passionate about their team and we have been privileged to serve them wherever they might be based in the world. We can’t wait to bring them even more choice in the coming years and continue our partnership with this innovative and forward-thinking club.”
Fanatics partners with several of the biggest football clubs across Europe and some of the largest sporting organizations in the world, including NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, International Olympic Committee and Formula One.