The International Olympic Committee(IOC) has penned down a deal with the American online retailer, Fanatics, launching its first e-commerce website, which will be seen selling Olympic merchandise. Through this online shop, people will be able to purchase official Olympic and Paralympic games merchandise, which will be produced by licensees and suppliers appointed by IOC and the organizing committees of the upcoming games.
This deal will run until 2028, which means the partnership will end between both parties after the summer Olympics in Los Angeles. In the meantime, Fanatics will have the rights to sell Olympics merchandise referring to Paris Olympics 2024, Milan-Cortina Olympics 2026, and of course the Los Angeles Olympics which will be held in 2028.
However, Fanatics doesn’t have the rights for the Winter Olympics 2022, which will be held in Beijing, China. The leading company of China, Ali Baba has already secured the rights for that event.
While till now financial terms regarding this partnership have been not released neither from IOC or Fanatics. But as per reports, the partnership has a clause of the revenue-sharing agreement, meaning Fanatics will be receiving a percentage of sales from selling the Olympic merchandise products.
Speaking on the occasion, Timo Lumme, television and marketing services managing director at the IOC said, “This is an exciting launch for us, as fans from an increasing number of territories will be able to purchase official Olympic merchandising and connect with the magic of the Olympic Games ahead of each edition,” said Timo Lumme, television and marketing services managing director at the IOC.”
“We are looking forward to collaborating on this new shop with the organizing committees of Paris 2024, Milano Cortina 2026, and LA28 to engage with a broader fanbase and offer collectibles and goods that convey the values of the Olympic movement, in line with the IOC global licensing strategy.”
Adding to it Gary Gertzog, president of business affairs at Fanatics, said ”The IOC had been attracted not just by Fanatics’ technology, but also its experience in designing and manufacturing licensed goods for some of the biggest sports organizations in the world.
“We believe by far and away we have the best tech platform in the business. It needs to have great speed [and capacity] so that if something amazing happens on the field and people want to buy something it can handle millions of people wanting to buy a product. Our site is secure, fast and stable, and easy to navigate.
“[Merchandise] is all we’ve done for more than 20 years, working with great sports organizations and [accumulating] knowledge and contacts across sports. We see the Olympics as one of, if not the premier sporting events in the world. We look at the Olympics as an area that isn’t fulfilling its potential in terms of the products on offer and how they are offered.”
Apart from being announced as the new e-commerce partner of the International Olympic Committee, Fanatics also serves as an official e-commerce partner of Team USA.