eFanshop Powers Online Sports Stores

DALLASó eFANshop will join the growing ranks of sports licensed merchandise e-tailers this month when it launches one of the largest online sports stores at MSNBCsports.com.
As part of multiyear partnership, eFANshop will be the main provider of licensed products at MSNBCsports.com and will manage all aspects of the store.
Unlike other sports licensed e-tailers, eFANshop does not intend to be a destination site, even though the company will have a home page.
ìWeíre not a site that weíre driving traffic to,î said Marc Andres, the company president and CEO.
Andres explained that eFANshop will create custom e-commerce shops on its home page for smaller Web sites that want a virtual store, but he said eFANshop will primarily target larger online sports stores.
ìOur goal is to partner with sites that would be powered by eFANshop. The research that we have seen shows that people go online predominantly for content and not to shop. So we want to go to content providers and provide e-commerce.î
In essence, eFANshop will function as an e-commerce portal that provides licensed sports merchandise and apparel.
The start-up has already had a number of conversations with other large sports content Web sites and could add entertainment licensed products to its mix down the road.
According to Joe Gateley, eFANshopís vice president and general merchandising manager, the sports store at MSNBCsports.com will offer the widest range of licensed sports and entertainment products online.
ìThink of it as a fan shop at the ballpark, a stadium store, the team catalog and a college bookstore rolled into one,î he said. ìItís anything and everything that has a team logo on it. No balls, bats, hockey skates or camping gear. Just team stuff.î (Internet, Licensing)