Everlast partners with Sears, KMart

CNBC’s Darren Rovell reports that fight glove manufacturer, Everlast, has partnered with Sears Holdings in which Everlast would grant a license to Sears so that products will be sold exclusively at Sears and Kmart stores.

The move was due to the increased competition Everlast faced from other brands in the sporting good retail market.

From Rovell’s SportsBiz web site

It’s what facilitated the Everlast move. By selling to Sears, they get both the department store play and the mass retailer in Kmart. Of course, the sporting goods retailers aren’t going to want the Everlast brand much after this, but it doesn’t seem like the brand was getting much traction anyway outside of the equipment space because they don’t crossover into the fashion space like Nike, Adidas and Under Armour do.

Rovell spoke with Everlast CEO Neil Morton and President Adam Geisler about the strategy behind its partnership with Sears.

Adopting a “value market” strategy was due to the high threshold of entry into the higher end sporting goods stores. Essentially, Nike, Adidas and Under Armour are competing for spots within The Sporting Authority’s and Dick’s Sporting Goods. Thus leaving niche brands like Everlast off the prime spaces in a sporting goods store.

Payout Perspective:

This is a good snapshot of the current state of the sporting goods market. Everlast, an established brand, is competing with bigger brands for market share. It has discovered that it has been priced out of traditional sporting goods stores. In an effort to remain viable as a brand, it has forged a partnership with Sears so that Everlast products are exclusive to those stores. This move appears to be a means of survival in a market where Nike, UA and Adidas are covering any and all sports. For Everlast, a brand synonymous with boxing, it recognized the growing trend and adjusted its business model to the trend.

It is also interesting that Everlast has changed its brand focus from boxing to “fighting” in an effort to include MMA. Another sign that MMA is taking over as the top form of combat sport.