With sports cards back on shelves in local Target and Walmart stores across the country, Fanatics is flexing their muscles on a still thriving marketplace.
Just a year ago, Fanatics sent shockwaves through the trading card industry by obtaining exclusive licensing rights to manufacture trading cards for three of the four major sports in North America. This caused the $1,300,000,000 dollar SPAC merger that the private investment firm and Topps Trading Cards owner Torante had planned with Mudrick Capital Acquisition to collapse days after Fanatics’ massive marketplace shake-up. Earlier this year, Fanatics continued sending shockwaves through the industry by announcing earlier this year their purchase of the Sports and Entertainment division of Topps Trading Cards, ensuring that the iconic Topps Baseball Cards brand would exist for many years to come.
Fanatics began August by continuing their trend of industry bombshells by announcing a new distribution pact with the popular sports apparel store Lids. More commonly known for selling hats at local malls across the country, Lids was already selling Topps Trading Cards for MLB, UEFA Champions League, Formula One, and other non-sports cards that Fanatics acquired earlier this year in over 300 stores nationwide. Fanatics has plans to increase the number of Lids stores selling Topps Trading Cards to more than 500 over the next few months.
The distribution pact between Fanatics and Lids should come as no surprise to people watching the sports apparel industry. In 2018, Fanatics purchased a minority stake in the Lids parent company, FanzzLids. Topps Trading Cards will have their own display set-up in each Lids store and the selection of cards being sold will vary by location.
As if that wasn’t enough, news began leaking that two major distributors will no longer be receiving Topps products after 2022. Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin has been quite clear in interviews about reimaging the distribution chain of Topps products by cutting distributors out of the picture and dealing directly with hobby shops and customers. One such distribution company that has been identified as losing Topps products is longtime Topps partner GTS Distribution.
Distribution companies of have been vital to the trading card industry for years. They have long been responsible for supplying trading cards to hobby shops and chain stores across the continent, along with common trading card supplies. In recent years, they have also been supplying Topps products to breakers.
Breaking has helped revitalize the hobby since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Collectors can purchase spots in “live breaks” of trading card boxes or cases on eBay auctions. Winners are provided livestreaming links to watch the packs of cards opened.
The implications of Fanatics severing the relationship with GTS Distribution has sparked discussion throughout the industry as to how Topps products for 2023 will get into collector’s hands and also how it may impact pricing. Fanatics and Topps has not released any details on their future plans for distribution, but one can surmise that we will begin seeing Topps products sold in greater quantities on Fanatics website in the near future.
As almost an afterthought, this week the 2022 Topps Baseball Card Factory Sets were released this week. The factory set contains all 660 cards from 2022 Topps Baseball Series 1 and 2. You can find the 2022 Topps Baseball Card Factory Set as low as $49.99 at Target.
