Rugby league's Origin to target babies

Queensland-based apparel company Sports Direction is hoping Australians will go ga ga over a new range of babywear targeting young rugby league supporters.
The company, which is contracted to the Queensland and
New South Wales rugby league associations, is presently developing a line of apparel and hardware aimed at the relatively unexplored market of State of Origin (SOO) supporters aged two and under.
The new line, dubbed Origin babywear, will include t-shirts, jumpsuits, overalls, scarves, pyjamas and blankets and will be supported by a hardware range of clocks and other branded merchandise.
The range, likely to hit retailers in time for the start of the NRL season on February, is themed around two dinosaur-type cartoon characters developed by Fullboar Graphic Design Studio, which has been doing project work with SOO since 1991. The range, with taglines including "Dummy Pass", "100% Queensland/Blues Baby" and "I wuv Queensland/NSW", will be produced by Sydney-based licensee Classic Sportswear.
Sports Direction managing director Richard Winten admitted price points for Origin Baby had yet to be established, but was adamant it would be "commercially appealing".
"We will meet market conditions and won't overprice the product."
The company began work on the range after market analysis had shown the demographic for Origin supporters was much broader than for traditional rugby league fanatics, Winten said.
"We have to remember we're not selling to the babies themselves, it's their mothers, fathers and grandparents who we have to appeal to. We have to have products that appeal to all markets."
Winten said plans were also afoot to introduce new ranges in womenswear, golfwear and sports trainingwear, all of which will be rolled out in the next 12 months.