Football and merchandising, when clubs also sell on Amazon
“If I was wearing a white dress at a wedding and a muddy balloon came along, I’d stop it without thinking”
Diego Armando Maradona
On a hot summer afternoon, being a child or little more, meeting in the lobby of the building with friends, wearing the t-shirt of your football idol, kicking a ball. They look like photographic scenes from a somewhat dated movie. It’s not like that, it’s history repeating itself.
Today, as in the past, children spend their afternoons simulating Champions League matches, dreaming of being world football stars. But how do you live up to these dreams? Maybe wearing the shirt of your idol. For example, Maradona’s number 10, Alessandro Del Piero’s or Lionel Messi’s. Or Cristiano Ronaldo’s number seven, the one who literally drove the fans crazy a few months ago by recording a million and a half shirts sold in his first 24 hours at Juventus.
The arrival of the Portuguese genius at Juventus, in addition to arousing enthusiasm and fear, not only consolidates the Juventus business but the entire movement of Italian football. Because? With the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo, Serie A is destined to become more attractive for the foreign market, but not only.
All clubs will benefit from that charm. In addition to the now famous CR7 shirts, it is expected that the new era of Italian football will also bring new admirers for Juventus’ opponents, with a catchment area destined to also feed the merchandising business.
And so it is that the most important Italian clubs are starting to work to develop a sector that is fertile ground for millionaire businesses. And, as usual, the Neapolitan genius leads the way. De Laurentiis’ Napoli has created the first official store of a football club on Amazon.
We are the first club in the world on Amazon!
Buy the new Kombat™️ Napoli 2019 at this link ➡ https://t.co/m2Tvbsa9D2 pic.twitter.com/WXK9aYeyxL— Official SSC Napoli (@sscnapoli) 18 July 2018
It was the company itself that made the announcement. “We are the first club in the world on Amazon,” the Azzurri proudly tweeted. It will be easier for anyone to buy their idol’s t-shirt online, moreover on a platform that speaks a well-known language, the language of Amazon. The project is part of the international development strategy that Napoli has been pursuing for some years and which aims to strengthen the brand on foreign markets.
“The launch of the online store on Amazon ,” says Aurelio De Laurentiis it also aims to expand the collaboration to the North American market in the near future. Napoli is now firmly among the top 20 teams in the UEFA ranking, and can count on over 40 million fans and 120 million supporters worldwide. It is very important for us to put them in a position to be able to easily buy our products and Amazon is extraordinary in its efficient distribution and order management“.
AC Milan, on the other hand, is looking for personnel specialized in the field of e-commerce. Basically, the Rossoneri club wants to hire an e-commerce specialist with the aim of boosting the turnover of the e-commerce channel and improving the digital experience of the “fan base” and “customer base“. “The candidate ,” reads the website he will report to the Digital Director and will be called upon to define the sales and marketing strategies of the online channel. He will also be responsible for the design, promotion and management of the channel, ensuring the achievement of sales targets“.
These are just some of the demonstrations of how e-commerce, also and above all, in the world of football is increasingly indispensable to consolidate business and (why not) even faith. After all, as we know, football teams are companies that make their fortune in the brand, which in the sector takes on even greater importance since this is the only business in the world where customer loyalty is eternal and, above all, regardless of performance.
