$31 billion sports giant Fanatics wants to make a Comic-Con for sports

2024-04-12-2-fanatics-is-31-billion-dollar-business

The merchandise giant is making "Comic-Con for sports"

4/12/24 11:36AM

House of cards, kits, and… conventions?

Not content with having a quasi-monopolistic hold over the world of sports jerseys, or constructing a multi-billion dollar empire from trading cards, or dipping its toe into sports gambling, Fanatics is now targeting the live event industry as well, unveiling plans this week for a “Comic-Con for sports”.

Fanatics Fest, slated to take place in August, will see huge names from across the sporting landscape — like Tom Brady, Kevin Durant, and Derek Jeter — take to New York to snap selfies and sign shirts for eager fans willing to pay through the nose to get near their sporting heroes.

Merch merchants

Fanatics started life in Florida as a brick-and-mortar store selling football jerseys and paraphernalia back in 1995, though it only really started to become the sports fan apparel giant we know today after it was acquired by Michael Rubin in 2011. Since then, the company’s grown at an extraordinary pace.

For example, in the summer of 2021, Fanatics wasn’t in the trading cards business at all. About a year later, it was its largest player, per FastCompany, after securing the rights to the MLB, NFL, and NBA, as well as acquiring trading card giant Topps.

However, not everyone’s been along for the ride: memorabilia rival Panini is just one of the entities to pursue legal action against Fanatics, accusing the company of “anticompetitive conduct” in a lawsuit.

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JetBlue is raising its bag fees as fuel costs squeeze airlines

JetBlue will reportedly hike its bag fees, as the cost of jet fuel continues to climb amid the war in Iran. It’s the latest example of carriers finding ways to push rising costs onto travelers.

Last week, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said that if fuel prices remain elevated, fares would need to rise another 20% for his airline to break even this year.

As CNBC reported, when one airline raises fees, others tend to follow.

Earlier this month, JetBlue hiked its first-quarter outlook for operating revenue per seat mile to between 5% and 7%, saying that strong Q1 demand helped “partially offset additional expenses realized from operational disruptions and rising fuel costs.” Now, the carrier appears to be making moves to further boost revenue to offset those costs.

Earlier on Monday, JetBlue rival Alaska Air lowered its Q1 profit forecast. The refining margins for the carrier’s cheapest fuel option — sourced from Singapore and representing about 20% of Alaska’s overall supply — have spiked 400% since February.

JetBlue did not immediately respond to a request for comment.