The Minnesota Wild have aligned forces with Fanatics, a prominent global digital sports platform and licensed sports merchandise provider, to revolutionize the retail experience for fans attending games at the Xcel Energy Center and shopping on HockeyLodge.com. This groundbreaking long-term partnership designates Fanatics as the official end-to-end retail partner for the Wild, assuming control of all physical retail outlets within the arena and overseeing the team’s online store. The collaboration signifies a shift towards an integrated omnichannel shopping encounter for Wild supporters.
Fanatics had previously managed the Wild’s official e-commerce platform through its extensive affiliation with the NHL. The expanded agreement signifies a merger of both online and in-venue retail operations, promising a seamless and cohesive shopping journey for fans whether they are browsing from the comfort of their homes, on-the-go with mobile devices, or present at the games themselves. Carin Anderson, the Senior Vice President of Corporate Partnerships and Retail Management for the Minnesota Wild, conveyed her excitement about this new venture. She assured fans that they can anticipate an enriched shopping experience online and at the newly renovated Xcel Energy Center store, with an expanded range and enhanced availability of their beloved team merchandise.
As part of this initiative, Fanatics will make substantial investments in enhancing the retail spaces at the Xcel Energy Center, encompassing stores, kiosks, and various touchpoints. These upgrades are intended to optimize the shopping experience during games and events, with the ultimate goal of offering a consistent and convenient shopping environment for all fans. Leveraging its extensive licensed apparel partnership with the NHL, Fanatics will provide Wild fans with an extended selection of top-notch team merchandise. Commencing this season, Fanatics will serve as the NHL’s official provider for on-ice uniforms, enabling fans to purchase the same Fanatics-branded, Made-in-Canada jerseys worn by the players during games after more than a decade.
Alongside the array of Fanatics-branded products, the retail offerings will include apparel, headwear, hard goods, and lifestyle items from renowned brands like Mitchell & Ness, New Era, WinCraft from Minnesota, as well as local favorites such as UNRL, SotaStick, and Levelwear, among others. Ed O’Brien, the Senior Vice President of Business Development at Fanatics, expressed eagerness about this newfound partnership as the Wild’s official omnichannel retail provider. He underscored the significance of hockey in Minnesota’s culture and reiterated Fanatics’ commitment to delivering an unrivaled retail experience for fans to celebrate the game and proudly support their team on game days and beyond.
In recent months, Fanatics has been implementing upgrades and renovations to The Hockey Lodge, the team’s primary retail location. The store is slated to host a grand opening event on September 21 at 11 a.m., coinciding with the introduction of the new portfolio of authentic and replica jerseys for fans by the NHL and Fanatics. With this alliance, the Minnesota Wild becomes the third NHL team to have Fanatics operate both in-venue and e-commerce retail. They join a roster of Minnesota-based sports organizations partnering with Fanatics, including the NBA’s Timberwolves, the WNBA’s Lynx, the NFL’s Vikings, and the University of Minnesota Athletics.
