Field Report


SGB Sports


UFC growth could help retailer growth


‘World’s fastest-growing sport’ may be a way to lure customers in to your sports shop with crossover sport fashion UFC label


F


ight For Fashion is producing a line of UFC clothing and it’s already attracted the attention of high street chain JD


Sports. The UFC’s brand of mixed martial arts is


available in 148 countries, 19 languages and is broadcast to nearly half a billion households worldwide.


In the UK and Ireland, the UFC has


sold out the six biggest arenas setting box office, merchandise and attendance records. UFC began in 1993 as a one-off tournament to


find the ultimate fighting art; fighters from disciplines including Karate, Judo, Boxing, Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Interest in the sport is growing, probably helped by the fact that boxing (with just a couple of notable exceptions) has become a bad joke to many sports fans. MMA requires dedication and intelligence – practitioners need to master three main types of combat sport, striking, grappling and wrestling. There is a feeling of reality to it that many sports now lack – the distance between athlete and fan is just too great in most sports for fans to feel any real connection.


In the UK, UFC’s programming is already


available on ESPN, FIVE and FIVER and now with the long running reality television show The Ultimate Fighter airing on Sky Sports expect awareness of the UFC brand to rocket. The Ultimate Fighter show pits two teams against each other, with 28 of the world’s best lightweight prospects competing over 13 weeks to see who wins the show – and the lucrative UFC contract that comes with the title. An added bonus for UK viewers is the inclusion of Brit Aaron Wilkinson. The UFC’s official


fan expo will hit the UK for the first time at


Earl’s Court on October 15th and 16th, and UFC 120 will emanate from the already sold out 02 arena – that’s a lot of potential customers. The collection is designed to appeal to existing UFC and MMA fans, says Fight For Fashion’s MD Abby Williams, but it also


terms of our mainstream fashion appeal.”


But that 18-34-y-o male customer is deluged with brands and messages, so how can UFC stand out? Abby continued: “To reach that customer we’ve


done a marketing campaign with Men’s Fitness magazine, and there are some other mainstream publications coming soon.


JD Sports already


have the first collection in stock, and we are holding a fighter signing tour across the country to promote the brand in their stores. The collection comprises around 30 pieces, with t-shirts retailing between £19.99 and


branches out across the mainstream: “Our first collection is an introduction of the UFC brand to the mainstream market, so


there are a lot of brand carriers and logo-driven designs. MMA clothing brands have traditionally had more of a niche appeal and are slightly ‘alternative’ in design terms – the UFC apparel collection is more mainstream and athletic feeling.


“Yes, we are looking to appeal to people who are die-hard UFC fans, but we’re also looking to appeal to the wider market of 18-34-year-old males who are likely to be familiar with the brand already, but also choose to wear the clothing because it is easy-to-wear fashion. “UFC clothing will always be


connected with combat sports, but we’re going to offer something to the mainstream fashion customer as well as the combat’s sports fan. We’d


like to eventually align ourselves to brands such as Super Dry and Henleys, in


OCTOBER 2010 SGB SPORT 19


£24.99, with hoods at £44.99. Abby says that while it’s not a performance apparel range right now, that is an area they are looking to move into: “We will be developing a range of performance wear, for training and fighting, but the first collection is predominantly sports fashion.”


S


Why not give Fight For Fashion’s UFC range a try? Call 0113 204 2417 for information.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28