Bull Direct Marketer
SINCE THAT sports thing didn’t work out for local hoopster Michael Jordan, it’s good he has something else to fall back on: direct marketing.
In addition to his agreements with Nike, Gatorade and Hanes, the Bulls legend has an exclusive contract with Upper Deck Authenticated of Carlsbad, CA, to use his likeness and autograph on a variety of memorabilia for items it markets through Home Shopping Network.
Upper Deck, a former cataloger, sells basketballs, jerseys, trading cards, photos, gold coins and other merchandise-with and without Jordan’s autograph. Many commemorate a championship or special event. For example, around Jordan’s Jan. 13 retirement date, the network pitched a 14-karat gold trading card of the basketball great.
For Upper Deck-which sells only via HSN and to a few dozen distributors-the arrangement is a slam-dunk. Jordan has agreed to sign his name on thousands of items through the year 2000 for the sports collectibles company, which contracts with about 40 athletes. But, notes spokeswoman Mary Mancera, only the Jordan-related merchandise sells out.
Collectors pay $5,000 for a set of basketball cards with a swatch of Jordan’s uniform tucked within, or up to $10,000 for a set of three hand-painted autographed jerseys. To fan the excitement, Upper Deck often caps the quantity of certain items available at 23, Jordan’s jersey number.
If it all seems a bit like a house of cards (no pun intended)-that Upper Deck creates collectibles instead of selling products that are actually rare or valuable-collectors couldn’t care less.
“Who would pay $2,000 for a Michael Jordan jersey? To die-hard fans the price is totally irrelevant,” according to Mancera.
“They just think, ‘I gotta have it.'”-KO
