November 22, 2011
WE ARE! Losing Money.
As the Jerry Sandusky scandal continues to unfold at Penn State University, many people assumed that the Penn State brand — known nationally as pristine and rule abiding — would take a hit. Although probably few guessed that the hit would be this big, this fast.
Industry analysts are reporting that sales of Penn State hats, shirts, and various other PSU-branded items have dropped around 40% compared to the same time last year. Clearly, the 40% drop is more than statistical insignificance, and even more importantly, the significant drop occurred quickly.
“This is the first time I can recall ever seeing a decline of sales right out of the box,” said Matt Powell, an analyst with industry research organization SportsOneSource Group. “I have never seen anything this before.
“But we’ve never seen a scandal quite like this before.” (via Washington Post)
The shocking nature of the Sandusky allegations helped to create an extremely strong negative impact as soon as the story broke. That, mixed with the fact that we’re more than likely dealing with a lengthy court process — especially with civil suits more than likely being levied against Penn State in the future — seems to imply that Penn State’s declining merchandise sales aren’t going away anytime soon.
Of course, not every store that sells Penn State merchandise is experiencing the decline,
A sporting goods store in the heart of State College said sales of Paterno-specific merchandise are up.
“I’m not sure it relates to the situation or if people don’t know how long those items will be available,” said Caroline Gummo, advertising manager of The Family Clothesline shop. Also selling briskly is a new Penn State T-shirt that features a football helmet with a blue ribbon representing child abuse prevention, she said.
The college-branded merchandise market is huge, accounting for more than $4 billion in annual retail sales, according to Powell. It is estimated that Penn State brings in about $80 million dollars a year in merchandise sales.
One comment
Well obviously after all of the scandals, this was going to happen. Peopledon’t want to support a school who covered up a crime as serious, and sick as that. It’s going to take Penn State a while to get back on their feet. Which is not fair to the team, and people who weren’t invloved. Of course they’ll still have their core fan base, but people outside of State College will not want to support a school who had had people commit acts that were not uncovered due to the school’s higher ups covering it up.
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