AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. — Coming after baseball’s most memorable World Series since the Cubs’ 2016 triumph, the eighty-something apparel and hard-goods licensees gathered here last week under the Florida sun were universally ebullient concerning the current state of their businesses. Looking eight months into their future, however, nearly all believed a lockout will short-circuit business, with many predicting that the 2027 MLB Spring training, if not the regular season, will miss games.
G-III Sports Chairman Carl Banks said his company has been having weekly meetings about lockout scenarios since March. “It’s definitely top of mind,” he added. “We’re talking to everyone about that possibility and everyone’s talking to us.”
The timing as far as starting to affect orders for next year is now, Banks said. “So, we’re looking at what we can build and hold that’s somewhat evergreen or fill blanks where we can here,” he said.
The 2027 MLB All-Star Game is set for Wrigley Field. With his Sports World Chicago store across the street from the “friendly confines,” Managing Partner Bradley Rosen has multiple concerns.
“I’m trying to figure out how much All-Star Game merch we should buy, or even if there will be one,” he said. “It looks like we’re going to miss a lot of our selling season, starting with spring training, so I’m planning on buying 75% percent of what I usually do and chasing the rest.”
“We haven’t gotten any calls [from licensees] about royalties,” said Evan Kaplan, president of MLB Players Inc. and a 27-year veteran of the MLBPA. “We remain optimistic, because there’s lots of incentives to continue playing. When you look at [licensing] sales, everything from spring training to the WBC into this season this year was very positive.”
At press time, Polymarket odds indicated a 55% to 57% probability that a new collective-bargaining agreement will not be signed by Dec. 1, when the current one expires. Accordingly, some licensees and teams are starting to operate like it’s not business as usual.
“Our top executives are telling me we’re going to miss games,” said a senior team merchandizing exec. “And there are already deals being done by licensees, as far as paying for goods later or paying partially.”
Added Rosen: “Most of my suppliers are large enough that they can swallow 30-, 60- or 90-day delays on orders. We’ll be OK, long term, but planning is problematic, at best.”
Fourteen-year MLB licensing vet Jamie Leece had headed MLB consumer products since January as SVP business/global consumer products and retail. He was preaching caution.
“If you’re not planning for business as usual, you’ll be unprepared,” he said. “That’s the feedback we’re giving licensees. ... I’d be naive to think [a potential lockout] wasn’t a concern, but a lot of the concerns I’m hearing from licensees here are just the normal blocking and tackling of the day.”
Still, a potential work stoppage was easily the topic du jour.
“Our baseball business has been great, and novelties are hot across sports, but there’s definitely uncertainty,” said Dave Bringe, VP sales at Fanatics’ Wincraft hard-goods unit. “It’s a bit like COVID, where we just didn’t know the future. We’re telling customers to plan like it’s a regular season (impending), and we‘ll certainly work with them when we know more and they know their inventory positions.”
Antigua Apparel was showcasing a line of iridescent shirts with MLB team logos which had to be booked by June to guarantee delivery for next season. “We’re cautiously positive,” said Antigua SVP Sales and Marketing Brendan McQuillan, “but like everyone here, we’re planning for every eventuality.”
Antigua and others with stateside manufacturing, decoration or assembly capabilities were optimistic those will be the ultimate determinant of success in case of a lockout.
“We have domestic production and shipping and that will ultimately mean a lot if the worst happens,” said Jack Queally, CEO of hard-goods licensee YouTheFan. “We’re all just waiting to see the outcome.”
