The popularity, grades, and collaboration 'triplets' opened up fans' hearts and wallets
The popularity, grades, and collaboration 'triplets' opened up fans' hearts and wallets
Blog Article
This year's professional baseball league surpassed the 10 million mark for the first time. It became the first time since its launch in 1982. It proved once again that it is the most popular sport in Korea thanks to its huge box office success. As more and more fans visit the baseball stadium, there are notable changes in addition to entrance profits. All 10 clubs have increased sales of uniforms and club-related products called "Goods."
Kia has seen its sales increase the most by far. Its sales this year jumped 340 percent year-on-year, as it achieved combined wins including regular season and Korean Series championships.
Kim Do-young, who won the MVP award in the regular season due to her stellar performance this season, has become a superstar. Sales of uniforms with Kim Do-young's name marked exceeded 11 billion won. The image of iApp Studio, the club's official sponsor of Authentic, helped to attract a young fan base. "This is thanks to the creation and sale of various goods that reflect the needs of fans in the advertising product group," the Kia team said.
Samsung, which had been considered weak until the opening of this season but advanced to the runner-up position in the Korean Series, also received lots of love from Samsung. Even during weekday games, Samsung Lions Park in Daegu was sold out. It exceeded 1 million spectators for the first time since its foundation.
Unlike other teams, Samsung has enjoyed huge sales despite not collaborating with certain characters or brands. It is up about 300 percent from the previous year. In 2023, around 40,000 uniforms were sold, but 120,000 uniforms were sold this year. A club official said, "The uniform design has changed, and the team has made progress. It is also because of the baseball boom in general."
As Samsung celebrated this season, it drew the repercussions of fans by removing the red borders of its so-called "Match" uniforms. The performances of young players, including Kim Young-woong, Lee Jae-hyun, and Kim Ji-chan, opened the wallets of fans.
Lotte, which failed to go to fall baseball, also recorded a 195% increase compared to last season.
The source of revenue is uniforms. Lotte released a variety of uniforms this season. Not only home and away uniforms, but also camellia uniforms and military uniforms were released. Also, famous animation characters such as Shin-chan and Esther Bunny and their collaborations gained popularity. "We ran out of uniforms," a Lotte official said.
Outfielder Yoon Dong-hee is also on top of the list. The uniforms of Na Seung-yeop, Ko Seung-min, and Hwang Sung-bin, the so-called "Yoon Na-go-hwang" along with Yoon, and Son Ho-young, the "transfer student," were also sold. In addition, the "Clap" cheering tool collaborated with Esther Bunny was made in pink, which was very popular among female fans. Now, it is not even available on used transaction apps.
Hanwha's merchandise sales also jumped 189 percent year-on-year. Of these, 69 percent are made up of special uniforms, which account for 40 percent of the total. The team analyzed that the sales were driven by the release of various special uniforms depending on the period. For example, the team launched 100 wins for Ryu Hyun-jin, military, summer and pink uniforms, which attracted fans. Notably, blue summer uniforms that broke the mold of "Hanwha = Orange" became a "symbol of victory" by boasting a high winning rate when worn by its players.
Doosan, which was a so-called "hit" by collaborating with the cute bear character "The Broken Bear," also boasted a 105% increase. There was also a rare scene in which fans lined up at Jamsil Stadium from dawn to get uniforms and products that collaborated with "The Broken Bear."
In addition, Doosan believes that the launch of windbreakers and luggage colors in line with the needs of young fandom and the launch of timely commemorative products had a great impact on sales.
NC's goods sales also rose 90 percent compared to 2023. Uniforms that collaborated with Battle Crush and Jo Gu-man were popular, and many other Fancy items were sold.
The club said, "Since 2022, profits have risen due to direct production, and the number of spectators has increased due to marketing within the club. We have carried out a variety of products, including collaborated products, the first launch of the Print-On-Demand (POD) shop team, and commemorative products for Son Ah-seop's most hits. Thanks to this, we succeeded in targeting the fan base in their teens and 20s."
KT also saw a 75 percent increase year-on-year. Also, the proportion of uniforms was overwhelmingly large, and among them, the uniform of King Jeongjo, which emphasized the characteristics of his hometown, was the most popular.
In addition, Kiwoom (24%), LG (20%) and SSG (20%) boasted an increase of around 20%.
Kiwoom said it held a pop-up store at the beginning of the season and this result came as sales of fashion clothing increased.
LG's goods sales, which rose 200 percent year-on-year after winning the title for the first time in 29 years last year, increased 20 percent year-on-year. LG also increased its revenue by diversifying collaboration products such as the webtoon character "Maru is a puppy." 메이저놀이터
SSG also said, "It is the result of actively launching collaborative products with trendy brands outside of baseball," adding, "Some main products have received a lot of attention, such as being sold out."
The upsurge that all 10 baseball teams mentioned was in common with the younger generation's overall popularity, performance and collaboration. To continue the success of the next season, the team should be based on an active analysis of its fan base.