According to Pérez Padilla, the fastest growing business niche is baseball caps, and New Era entered that niche a decade ago. The company took its first step in 2012, when it began convincing team owners to obtain licenses to stamp team logos on different colored caps. The history of New Era and the Liga Mexicana de Béisbol (LMB) has developed over time, and although they initially focused on producing caps and uniforms just for the players, the volume of sales has increased exponentially thanks to the increasing number of players. sports fans.
Caps have proven to be an effective channel for connecting teams with their fans. In fact, in 2019, 29,000 caps of the different teams of the Mexican Baseball League were sold, but this figure has increased significantly in recent years, reaching 214,000 units in 2022. This year 400 different models of caps will be put on sale and jerseys, including home, away and alternate kits.
The specialty retailer’s general manager says fans don’t just want a cap to wear in the stadium, but are looking for a variety of options to build collections, including limited editions and special jerseys. And New Era is responding to this demand effectively. This year, the company projects sales of more than 300,000 caps.
According to the director of New Era, the company has exclusive permission to market the caps that players wear during baseball games, which gives it a unique competitive advantage in the market. However, this does not prevent local brands from producing their own caps with the team logos, with which they share space in the official stores inside the stadiums.
Sales in these stores have become an important channel for the company, and according to the director, the Sultanes de Monterrey store was the one that sold the most in 2022, even surpassing the Madero store in downtown Monterrey. Mexico.
To tackle piracy, New Era also sells caps with embroidered team logos at stores like Coppel and Walmart, but at a lower price. These caps do not include the brand’s logo, but still offer a more affordable alternative to baseball fans.