Fanatics: Growing the Sports Economy - [Business Breakdowns, EP. 51]

This is Jesse Pujji, and today we are breaking down Fanatics. If you’ve recently bought sports apparel online, you interacted with Fanatics. They power the entire digital commerce experience for the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, and hundreds of other sports leagues around the world. 

To break down Fanatics, I am joined by an early investor, Deven Parekh, from Insight Partners. Deven has been an investor in Fanatics since 2011. We cover Fanatics' unique vertically integrated commerce model, how they redefined their TAM, and how the company is aggressively entering NFTs, real money betting, and other expansion areas. Please enjoy this business breakdown of Fanatics.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.

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Show Notes

[00:02:40] - [First question] - What is Fanatics and the scale of the business today

[00:04:26] - What the core business of Fanatics does

[00:05:41] - The history of Fanatics and what led to its success

[00:10:59] - Michael Rubin’s story and the role that GSI played in Fanatics’ growth

[00:13:58] - How the licensing business works and how Fanatics’ relationship with the leagues differs from their competitors 

[00:15:34] - The landscape of this industry before Fanatics

[00:16:36] - Why the change from the best commerce experience to a broad digital sports platform

[00:19:02] - Differences of Fanatics’ P&L compared to others in the industry

[00:21:05] - How the real-time advantage helps drive growth in the business

[00:23:12] - Whether or not the leagues participate in gross margins and how much of a focus they place on cost optimization 

[00:25:25] - Distinctive things about Fanatics from an investor’s perspective  

[00:26:22] - Why hasn’t Amazon stepped into this space yet

[00:27:30] - Which leagues have opted out of working with Fanatics and interesting team and player dynamics

[00:28:59] - Reasons behind getting involved with NFTs, trading cards, betting, and how it might evolve in the future

[00:32:22] - Ways they’re taking the core business and augmenting other branches

[00:34:36] - What will have gone right over the next five years for Fanatics to continue growing at the pace they are today

[00:37:59] - What will have gone wrong over the next five years that will hurt Fanatics’ growth

[00:39:59] - Lessons for builders and investors when studying Fanatics’ story 

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