Volleyball Canada’s Successful Merchandise Strategy
By Connie Jeske Crane
We tend to associate fan gear—colourful jerseys, ball caps, wacky foam hands—with major league sports. Yet for smaller sport organizations, selling branded merchandise offers seriously good revenue potential.
Take Volleyball Canada as an example. After a major rebrand in 2019, which included savvy merchandise development, the national sport organization (NSO) is reaping the benefits.
Courtney Killion, partner development lead with Volleyball Canada, says merchandise has become a valuable added revenue stream, with nice side benefits. She notes that attractive merch builds pride and excitement across the organization. “When I’m on the way home from Nationals or one of our other events, the whole airport is filled with these kids wearing our merchandise.”
Here are five takeaways from Volleyball Canada’s effective strategy:
REVENUE POTENTIAL
While actual revenues depend on many factors, done right, merchandise revenue can be considerable. Killion says in Volleyball Canada’s case, merchandise sales make up 5% of annual revenue.
The annual Youth Nationals event alone, involving 15,000 athletes, “has a strong merchandise program reaching seven figures in sales over the 12-day event,” Killion says. She also notes that “Volleyball Canada takes a portion of total merch revenue and the rest goes to our partner.”
PARTNER UP
With partners, Killion’s advice is to find a good one and collaborate effectively. “It’s really key to hook up with a good partner, because NSOs are naturally not in the merchandise industry.”
As part of its 2019 rebrand strategy, Killion says Volleyball Canada partnered with Calgary-based supplier Volleyball Stuff. “Our branding group did a fantastic job. They’ve really simplified our brand. It’s clean. We have specific Pantone colours… We wanted a partner that appreciated that and wanted to help us maintain the integrity of our brand.”
START SMALL
“We didn’t start with this massive merchandise program. We started small,” Killion explains. She advises starting with a smaller number of SKUs and colours. “Test the waters and see what does well.”
CATER TO YOUR DEMOGRAPHIC
How to deliver merch that’s hot versus ho-hum? For Volleyball Canada it’s about demographics and trends. Killion says the target audience comprises “volleyball athletes aged 14 to 18 and their families for domestic events, plus general Team Canada and volleyball fans for international events.”
Besides stocking traditional T-shirts, hoodies and long-sleeved shirts, Killion says, “We always are aware of the items that have sold out at an event,” adding that success is tied to leaning into that trendiness.
“It’s what the kids want, or what we see them wearing. An example of that, it’s kind of funny, but one time they ordered little rubber duckies with our logo on them for the beach [volleyball competition].” To organizers’ surprise, “They sold out and we had kids contact us on social media or at events asking, ‘Do you have any more?’”
Croc charms, bucket hats, oversized clothing and souvenir items bearing event dates and location have also proved popular recently, says Killion. “It’s about being flexible and pivoting.”
BRAND CONNECTION
Volleyball Canada sells its merchandise both online and at events, says Killion, noting that 80% of sales occur at events.
“We create excitement for upcoming merchandise by teasing sneak peeks in the months leading up to an event,” she explains. “A typical launch includes a presale with special perks for purchasing in advance.” Those perks might include offering presale-only colours or names and numbers added to clothing.
To reach its youthful demographic, Volleyball Canada utilizes email and social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok to get the message out. On site, Killion says, it’s important to give attendees “an impressive look and feel in a dedicated merchandise area.”
Overall, she says, “You just have to provide more opportunities for them to connect with the brand and to make the purchase.”
Photos: Volleyball Canada; VBS Apparel
Published October 2024
