Yahoo Sports NHL Opens Expanded Flagship Store at Manhattan West
The National Hockey League is on the move.
The hockey league today is opening a relocated and expanded flagship store at Manhattan West, the new development on the city’s west side that is also home to the league’s new corporate headquarters in One Manhattan West. The move of the store and offices was originally scheduled for spring 2020 but was delayed due to the pandemic. The NHL officially opened its new offices Sept. 13.
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The 9,000-square-foot NHL Shop is being operated by Lids, a headwear retailer partially owned by Fanatics, the largest licensed sports merchandiser. It replaces a 6,700-square-foot store on 47th Street and Sixth Avenue that opened in 2007.
The store offers a range of merchandise for all 32 NHL clubs in men’s, women’s, men’s and children’s styles from Adidas, Fanatics, ‘47, Wear by Erin Andrews, G-III and Funko. There is also on-site jersey, T-shirt and headwear customization, novelties, outerwear and other products.
Top-selling items in the previous store — and what the league expects to be most popular in the new flagship — are jerseys. With the new location just blocks from Madison Square Garden, home of the New York Rangers, the league expects licensed merchandise from that team to be a top seller, along with merchandise from the other local teams, the Islanders and Devils, according to the league.
Prices include keychains for $4.99, Adidas jerseys for $200 to $270 with customization, Fanatics jerseys for $150 to $220 with customization, logo T-shirts for $29.99 to 39.99, player T-shirts for $39.99, hats $29.99 to $34.99, outerwear for $199.99 and hoodies for $49.99 to $59.99.
The NHL Shop will offer 28 high-definition video walls playing live game broadcasts, original NHL productions and content from the league and individual team social media accounts. It also includes interactive product displays and mobile POS devices for quick checkouts.
Brian Jennings, NHL chief brand officer and senior executive vice president, said, “Our vision was to build a multisensory hockey experience that emotionally connects our fans to the game, teams and players they cheer for. With support from Fanatics and Lids, this world-class retail destination will offer fans an immersive shopping experience with a robust merchandise offering, curated content and unique artifacts from the Hockey Hall of Fame. Along with exciting NHL events we have planned, we hope to entertain, inspire and welcome every hockey fan that walks through our doors.”
In addition to a traditional retail store, the location will serve as an event and entertainment destination for the NHL. Current and former NHL players and other hockey personalities will make appearances both in person and virtually via an augmented-reality photo booth.
The venue also features a hockey history installation of artifacts and memorabilia curated by the Hockey Hall of Fame, which will open with exhibits showcasing the evolution of the hockey stick and helmet and the histories of the NHL All-Star Game and the men’s and women’s Olympic ice hockey competitions.
In November, Brookfield Properties, owner of Manhattan West, in partnership with the NHL, will open a 60-foot by 80-foot ice rink in the center of Manhattan West’s two-acre public plaza. The rink will offer outdoor public skating and NHL-hosted special hockey experiences.
NHL Shop’s retail experiences were designed by New York-based TPG Architecture.
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