Fanatics has continued the strong international deployment of its vertical manufacturing and merchandising model by signing a new long-term partnership with the strong German Football Association (DFB). It will handle the sourcing of a greater range of licensed products for the DFB that will be available to fans all over the globe through a new global e-commerce platform, the DFB Fanshop (fanshop.dfb.de). The American company will also operate DFB retail outlets when the German team plays at home.
The deal with the DFB comes after similar manufacturing and merchandising contracts were recently signed with big European football clubs like Real Madrid, Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea. Fanatics already has contracts with the NFL, the NBA and the NHL in the U.S. as well as with the Ryder Cup in golf and Formula One in car racing.
These contracts allow fans to shop for the licensed products of their favorite teams on their smartphones, on their computers, at the stadium or in a store, enhancing the global reputation of the teams and potentially expanding their fan base.
Fanatics has appointed experienced new managers to support its strong international development. The company has hired Ignacio Beristain Borra to head its retail, buying and merchandising functions internationally, and to lead the company's operations across Southern Europe. Bill Tung has joined the company as managing director for Fanatics Branded International. Also, Ian Nelson has been hired as the new product marketing director. Finally, Zohar Ravid has joined Fanatics as director of strategy, mergers and acquisitions.
Borra spent more than 18 years at Adidas, where he served most recently as managing director of the global Real Madrid business unit. He is joining Fanatics as managing director for Southern Europe, merchandising & retail, responsible for Spain, Portugal, Italy and the global retail, buying and merchandising functions.
Tung spent 13 years building Columbia Sportswear's international business. Most recently, he performed similar functions at New Balance as executive vice-president of international operations.
Nelson joins Fanatics from Pentland Brands, coming with more than 20 years of international brand-building experience with brands such as Marks & Spencer, Lacoste, Speedo, Canterbury and Ellesse. Ravid, who joins Fanatics as director of strategy and M&A, has spent more than a decade in investment banking, focusing mostly on M&A in the technology sector.
Fanatics' global presence has grown significantly over the past year, thanks partly to the $1 billion investment it received from Softbank's Vision Fund in 2017. The company now operates offices and fulfilment centers in the U.S., the U.K., Germany, Spain, India, Hong Kong and Japan.
Meanwhile, a report by SGB Media indicates that Joe Bozich is in line to become president of Fanatics Brands, the company's in-house manufacturing and wholesale apparel divisions, which have grown considerably since it acquired Majestic from VF Corporation in the spring of 2017. Bozich, who founded Knights Apparel, a major supplier of collegiate sports clothing in the U.S., joined the group last May in the new position of chief operating officer.
