Sangeeta Shastry:Chiefs’ funk hits merchandise sales

[Tribal Warfare]

Chiefs’ funk hits merchandise sales
The team’s dismal record is dragging down fans’ purchases of memorabilia.
By SANGEETA SHASTRY
The Kansas City Star
Walk into a sporting goods store this season, and you’ll probably encounter a sea of Chiefs red. Unfortunately, it’s hanging unsold on racks.

Chat with the people behind the counter and you’ll hear that it doesn’t look like they expect to sell out anytime soon.

Like the Chiefs themselves — they’re 1-8 this season — sales of merchandise bearing the team’s logo are in a slump. And businesses say fans’ frustration is putting a strain on those who depend on the Chiefs brand.

“It’s never been this bad,” said Hal Wagner, owner of Ace Sports in Oak Park Mall and a 25-year veteran of the industry. “It doesn’t matter how good a businessman you are. Your success is based on the success of the team. Right now, it’s pretty bad.”

It’s not that sports merchandising is bad business. Check out the purple in the Kansas State sections of some stores and you’ll find it pretty well picked over by fans riding the Wildcats’ wave of an undefeated record.

But as for the Chiefs…

The names of Matt Cassel, Dexter McCluster and Eric Berry are emblazoned on the backs of $100 jerseys and $30 T-shirts lining store walls. Caps with the Chiefs logo stitched on are stacked neatly in rows, priced at close to $30.

Sales that started out strong at the beginning of the season now are weaker than they were last year, said Andrea Carroll, spokeswoman for Rally House.

The sales dip is simple psychology: People like to be associated with winners, said Kevin Gwinner, a professor of marketing at Kansas State University. And that’s reflected in buying jerseys, hats, shirts and coffee mugs emblazoned with their team’s logo.

“When the team is very successful, those sales tend to go up,” Gwinner said. “Likewise, when things aren’t going as well, you still have diehard fans, but you’ll see a lot more casting off reflected failure.”

That phrase — casting off reflected failure — also is known as “corfing,” a social theory. It happens when people distance themselves from anything — in this case, a sports franchise — headed south.

The Chiefs’ abysmal season by no means spells the demise of the brand, Gwinner said.

“The Chiefs brand is a strong brand,” he said.

The Chiefs organization did not return phone calls asking for comment.

K-State boost

Rally House, headquartered in Lenexa but with locations in Missouri, Kansas and Texas, sees some reason for optimism — including K-State’s success, which brings fans into the stores.

“Customers can ‘one-stop shop’ for their favorite teams,” Carroll said in an email. “And we’ve been more than ready for the K-State fans.”

Upcoming home games also may help. The Chiefs have played away for three out of the last four games, but will be at Arrowhead for the next three.

The “out of sight, out of mind” mentality that comes with away games hasn’t helped sales, Carroll said. “A stretch of several away games does affect interest,” she said.

Still, it’s hard to ignore the dampening effect of a 1-8 record.

“There’s just not a lot of added anticipation and excitement related to Chiefs merchandise sales,” Carroll said.

But Rally House isn’t “horribly worried” about the slow sales, especially with the holidays coming up, she said. What’s more, there are still loyal fans looking for Chiefs gear.

“It’s just maybe not as many right now,” she said. “A lot can change with just a win or two. We really do sort of run on hope. There’s always hope.”

But what about all the leftover merchandise once the season ends?

Expect discounts.

Rally House will hope to unload old merchandise — anything with a 2012 date or some clothing that has a player’s name on it. But a lot of what it carries is “evergreen” — things like hats and coffee mugs that can be sold from season to season.

Wagner also plans to mark down prices, especially for the holidays, likely by 20 percent. (Ace, which also sells tickets, is asking $18 for some seats that normally sold for $50.)

It’s not like sales have completely stopped, Wagner said. But people figure that the worse the Chiefs are doing, the better the deals they’ll get on merchandise.

Chiefs partners

Disappointment isn’t confined to fan stores. The Chiefs’ business partners are feeling and hearing the frustration, too.

Partners have linked their identity with a team that may now be toxic to some fans.

Hy-Vee, the official grocery sponsor of the Chiefs, sells licensed merchandise under its agreement with the team, usually in a corner of the store that’s packed with red and gold. Spokeswoman Ruth Comer said the stores have seen a drop in sales this year, but it’s too early to place the blame entirely on fan desolation.

“We’re not sure what to attribute that to — if it’s to how the season is going or the economy or if it’s a typical seasonal fluctuation,” Comer said.

Chiefs merchandise usually sells well at the beginning of the season, then levels off. The holidays typically cause another bump in sales.

“If that doesn’t happen, then that may be something that would be more associated with how the team is doing,” Comer said of the holiday spike.

This season’s rough patch isn’t causing Hy-Vee to rethink its deal. As a partner, Hy-Vee does pregame promotions at Arrowhead Stadium and community outreach projects.

The company also runs specials on tailgate food, which has seen strong sales even though there might not be a lot to enjoy after the parking lot picnic.

“Fans are still getting together to watch football games, to serve these tailgate foods,” Comer said. “We’ve been really pleased.”

Metcalf Bank, the team’s official bank, uses the Chiefs logo on its debit cards and puts on events with the team.

“We hear the disappointment, but there still is support here,” said Joyce Stacer, the bank’s senior vice president. “We still think that it is a community-minded thing. It’s our hometown team. Even though there is a lot of disappointment with the record, there’s still a lot of diehard fans out there.”

And that’s what retailers and businesses are hanging onto.

Over decades the team has built a positive history with the city, Kansas State’s Gwinner said — it’s a philanthropic partner and its players are the face of a long tradition.

“There’s some good will that built up,” he said. “That doesn’t get trashed just because of the lack of numbers in the winning column.”

Comer said Hy-Vee understands the frustration of fans who walk the grocery store aisles and visit the Hy-Vee Hot Zone inside Arrowhead.

“But we still remain very loyal to the Chiefs, and we’re finding that our customers are as well,” she said. “Frustrated as they are, they know that teams go through ups and downs.”

There’s always hope — and high draft choices, and next season.

“Everybody has peaks and valleys,” said Ken Suttle, sales manager at Ace Sports. “It happens. We just happen to be in a valley right now.

“A really big one,” he added, laughing.