Australian-born retailer Culture Kings has seen significant store sales growth in Melbourne as the streetwear business hooked onto the arrival of the NFL in the city over the weekend.
Despite not being an official sponsor of the game, Culture Kings positioned its Melbourne flagship at the centre of the week’s fan activity through a program featuring San Francisco 49ers talent, key installations, headwear customisation, competitions and live events.
Following the launch of Game On activations on September 4, Culture Kings recorded a 288 per cent year-on-year increase in new customers at its Melbourne flagship. Units sold at the store increased 370 per cent year-on-year, while gross sales rose 318 per cent.
As activity intensified during game week from September 7 to 10, Melbourne store units sold increased 700 per cent year-on-year and total sales grew 635 per cent year-on-year.
The impact extended across Culture Kings’ national retail and online channels, the retailer added.
Across the campaign build-up and activation period from 1 to 10 September, NFL product units sold across all Culture Kings stores increased 387 per cent compared with the preceding comparable period. Net NFL product sales grew 764 per cent across stores, while online NFL sales increased 128 per cent.
Developed in collaboration with the San Francisco 49ers and long-standing Culture Kings partners New Era and Crocs, Game On connected product, content, talent and customer experiences through one campaign platform.
The program included a giant 49ers helmet installation at Culture Kings Melbourne, a 49ers-inspired Hosier Lane mural, NFL merchandise claw machines, New Era customisation, talent appearances and fan events.
Former NFL star Todd Gurley appeared at Culture Kings Chadstone, while 49ers alumni Anquan Boldin and Jeff Garcia took part in an in-store fan meet-and-greet at Culture Kings Melbourne. The campaign culminated in a live game-day watch party presented by New Era at the Melbourne flagship.
Culture Kings ANZ president Justin Hillberg said the results demonstrated the commercial value of moving quickly and authentically around a major cultural moment.
“We recognised that the arrival of the NFL in Melbourne would extend well beyond the game itself. It was an opportunity to bring together sport, great product, entertainment and fan culture in a way that felt authentic to Culture Kings and our customers,” Hillberg said.
“Game On transformed our Melbourne flagship into an experience rather than simply a place to purchase product. Every element was designed to give fans another reason to visit, participate and engage across the week.
“The response exceeded our expectations. The increases across new customers, conversion and total sales demonstrate what is possible when strong brand relationships, great product, cultural relevance and experiential retail work together.”