There are many cricket or football fans around who are crazy about sports memorabilia. You may be aware of friends or colleagues who are keen to grab their favorite soccer, basketball or cricket team’s jersey.

They are not averse to spending to buy them up. Needless to say, that the caps, jerseys or trousers that symbolize their connection with say Manchester United or Mumbai Indians is a prized possession for them.

Sales of the host of merchandise related to the various Indian Premier League teams picked up. As IPL fever gripped the country, the merchandise of the IPL teams’ specially targeted at their loyal fans was vigorously marketed. In the UK or the US, the average share of items like monogrammed T-shirts can be very high.

The point to be made: Merchandise is an integral part of soccer or basketball team’s fan base and economic structure. Fans are always keen to buy say a monogrammed David Beckham T-shirt, which is a hot property. IPL merchandise sales were lower though. “It’s a new concept in India and will take time to catch on,” Rajiv Mehta, managing director of Puma was quoted as saying in a Business Standard article.

In fact, according to him, the response this year has been better than expected. Linked to the novelty of this concept is the fact that popular team jerseys – like the highest selling item for any team globally - are priced high for the average cricket fan in India. For example, a KKR jersey cost close to Rs 800 at a Reebok outlet. Similarly, an Adidas’ Delhi Daredevils polo t-shirt costs Rs 1499. A Rajasthan Royals jersey is available for Rs 699 at Puma.

You sure can consider sports memorabilia for gifting. Spot the person’s team or player before you gift one.

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A velvet jacket with exquisite Swarovski detailing, a corduroy mini skirt, a double-breasted denim jacket, a pinstriped shirt, a trendy knit tie, a nice neon green belt studded with dazzling diamantés and fabulous pink ballerinas.

It’s wrong to think it’s only the high street that’s really street-smart! In fact, you can now hit Puma, Reebok, Lacoste, Nike and Adidas stores for latest fashion apparel and accessories.

These fantastic fashion apparel and amazing accessories will make a wonderful gift for someone who is sporty and contemporary in attitude and outlook, which reflects in the person’s appearance and dressing style.

To offer you ample scope for selection, Lacoste has on offer a range of funky as well as formal shirts and jazzy jackets for both men and women, besides jeans, trousers, and ties. On the other hand, the Nike Sportswear (NSW) range comprises sizzling sports-inspired fashion product portfolio with prints, exquisite embroidery and just more than a little bit of bling you are looking for.

You will find that shelves at Puma are decked with sunglasses, comic strip-printed handbags, beautiful ballerinas, metallic sneakers, belts in neon colors with crystal buckles, and gold clutches. Their superb sports lifestyle collection is not for the field action, of course.

Gorgeous gym wear is another category worth considering. Metallic boots from Adidas are available at Rs7,999. As is apparent, the popular brand’s business strategy for the evolving Indian market is to focus on sports trendy lifestyle rather than churning hard-core sporting accessories and equipment.

As amply made clear by managing director of Puma Sports India Pvt. Ltd., Rajiv Mehta, in an interview, it gives them a clear edge over other leading sports brands. The brand has already tied up with designer Alexander McQueen internationally for a fashion line.

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Sports and fashion have an integral link. Young sports fans are equally fashion conscious, and event organizers well know this. In fact, for most popular sports teams globally, the mark-up for high-end memorabilia is well justified by the brand value. It usually works when a team or its star players tend to achieve cult status (just as, say, Liverpool or Manchester United charge hefty premiums for an official embossed T-shirt.

The ongoing IPL cricket tournament is another example of this. The cost price of an IPL T-shirt manufactured in the factories of Tiruppur, Bangalore and Chennai is between 15-20 per cent of the final cost, according to an estimate. Brands such as Puma and Adidas have a fixed cost sharing ratio with the teams. Though the marketers are unwilling to divulge the revenue-sharing arrangement with the cricket or football teams, teams roughly get up to 20 per cent by way of royalty.

Last year, KKR had launched actor and KKR owner Shahrukh ‘Khan’ special jersey with Reebok. It was priced at Rs 1,999, with King Khan’s name on the back. This time - for the second edition of IPL - franchisees have increased the scope of their portfolios to introduce more categories to gain from the IPL fever. The products range from Rs 50 to 2,000 plus.

Most of the IPL teams retail caps, mugs, badges, key chains and flip flops, all of which bear the insignia of all the participating IPL teams. IPL merchandise is slowly becoming a rage as fans are not averse to paying premiums.

The team owners know there are enthusiasts who consider all these items a prized possession than mere another piece of clothing or accessory. As you would read in one of our upcoming posts, sports memorabilia is becoming popular for gifting purpose. Of course, you should be able to get the choice right as each sports fan has different favorite teams or players.

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