Some designs are sports-minded without being directly licensed. A yellow t-shirt with the phrase, “I believe in the church of baseball” around a ball and chapel isn’t direct IP but is a direct nod to the movie “Bull Durham.”
Having both Fanatics and the NFL as distribution channels is gold for a rising company like Homage, and keeping fresh products in the pipeline ensures those business relationships continue.“Their passion for what they do is incredible,” Samuelson said, adding that the NFL hears from Homage several times a week about product ideas and other business. The league doesn’t green light every pitch, he added, but praised Homage for pushing the envelope on creativity.
Homage is sold in 30 of 32 NFL stadiums and is in most MLB and NBA venues, too. It’s not easy to get space in ballpark retail shops because there are many licensees with many products, and teams and their retail concessions partners pick and choose who gets the limited shelf space — including Fanatics, which is both a retailer and wholesaler of its own and third-party products.
Homage, after closing a couple, also has four brick-and-mortar company stores , but it’s unclear if more will happen as consumers mostly buy online or in team shops or big box retailers. The company currently is concentrating on getting more space inside stadium and arena team shops and on expanding its direct-to-consumer online sales.