The British and Irish Lions rugby union team has announced a new e-commerce and manufacturing deal with sports merchandising giant Fanatics.
The agreement will see Fanatics design and create a wide range of officially licensed clothing and merchandise for the Lions’ tour of South Africa in 2021.
This deal will also include the exclusive global rights to manage the team’s e-commerce operations and distribution. The sports apparel giant already oversees England Rugby’s retail and online stores.
Fanatics is launching a new official online Lions store and is promising to offer the widest range of merchandise ever created for a Lions Tour for next year’s trip to South Africa. It is also selling the official replica kits manufactured by sportswear brand Canterbury and Lions-branded clothing from fashion brand Hackett.
Zohar Ravid, Fanatics’ international general manager, said, “In partnering with Fanatics, the Lions will gain access to cutting edge e-commerce systems and industry-leading technology. This will provide rapid navigation for fans across online and mobile sites meaning larger, hi-resolution product displays, frictionless checkout, faster website performance and the quickest access to new product offerings.”
Lions have also teamed up with South Africa Rugby to merge commercial offers that will allow broadcasters, partners, and licensees to leverage and work around a centralized programme.
Fanatics has an existing partnership in place with England Rugby that sees them operating both retail and online stores. It also works with the NFL, MLB, NBA, and Formula 1.