Merchandise sales spike after championship victory
Mario Chalmers jerseys have generally sold well
Championship shirts have also been hot sellers.
By Luke Morris (Contact)
Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008
Since Mario Chalmers’ performance in the Jayhawks’ national championship victory, local stores have seen a boom in the sales of jerseys bearing his number.
While shirts commemorating the Jayhawks’ national championship have been the hottest item in stores, No. 15 jerseys have been hard to keep on the racks at some stores.
“We don’t have a Mario jersey left,” said Brian Hoffman, owner of Sports Dome, 1000 Massachusetts St. “We’ve had calls from people all over the country wanting one.”
Only players’ numbers are printed on the jerseys, not their names. The NCAA considers the jersey number an interchangeable property of the university’s. However, fans associate the number with the player who wears the jersey.
The jerseys were also selling quickly at Jayhawk Bookstore, 1420 Crescent Road.
“We’ve almost sold out in almost every size,” said Janet Muggy, wife of store owner Bill Muggy. “We also carry t-shirts with players’ numbers on them, and I’m out of No. 15.”
Janet said the store had put all of their jerseys in stock on the racks, and they were still going quickly.
Hoffman said that he contacted Adidas to get some more No. 15 jerseys, but the company didn’t have any left. But Adidas told him that they were in the process of printing a No.15 on some blank Kansas jerseys.
Hoffman said that No. 25 jerseys, worn by Brandon Rush, were also selling well. Along with No. 25, he said he still had some No. 00 and 4 jerseys, worn by Darrell Arthur and Sherron Collins.
Although, at University Book Shop, 1116 W. 23rd St., jerseys weren’t selling well, manager Brad Heins said.
“Ninety-five percent of what we’ve sold has been championship shirts,” Heins said. “We haven’t sold a ton of Mario jerseys.”
Should Chalmers choose to stay at Kansas next year, Hoffman and Heins said they were pretty sure that his jersey would continue to be a popular item.
“If everything goes well, I think the Mario and Sherron jerseys will be very popular next year,” Heins said.
Heins said it was too early to determine if he’d keep more No. 15 jerseys in stock than he did this year, next year, should Chalmers return.
—Edited by Nick Mangiaracina
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