Jersey-Rental Company
Opportunity: Sports drive our culture's daily life, including aspects of entertainment, socializing, and work. Team Identification is a psychological process where people feel the need to show off their fandom through jerseys and apparel, to identify their teams. Providing sports fans with a subscription-based jersey rental option would incentivize fans to rent jerseys for cheaper prices compared to the hundreds of dollars that a jersey would cost to buy.
WHO: Avid sports fans or anyone who needs a jersey for a social gathering based around sports.
WHAT: They are unable or unmotivated to spend a lot of money on purchasing jerseys at high prices.
WHY: No historical models of jersey-rental companies, seems like a solid idea.
Testing the Who: Jerseys are most popular among high school and college aged kids, and sports fans in general. They have become a fashion piece to show off. Tens of millions of people play fantasy football, make a march madness bracket, and go to parties for Super Bowls, World Cups, and the Olympics. These events make necessary a service that allows you to rent jerseys on your own schedule for a cheap monthly subscription.
Testing the What: Jerseys cost over $100 to purchase, and people want to be able to pay a small monthly amount for the option to select from every jersey in the world.Being able to rent a jersey or two at a time, and then return them in exchange for two new jerseys presents the ability to show off your new favorite player every week. Fantasy Football players want to be able to show support of their players each season, which is a massive market to tap into.
Testing the Why: Subscription-based payment programs are taking the world by storm. Music and Video streaming services utilize subscriptions, as well as even car rentals and shopping services. Subscription allows users to pay as they go, with the option to quit anytime they want to. This seems like an untapped market to take advantage of.
Interview 1: Steve
- Steve has played Fantasy Football for seven years, and in that time has purchased three NFL jerseys. "I no longer have the players I bought jerseys for. I don't want to spend the money on a jersey for one of my current players because I may not have him next year." Steve said he would use a subscription based service if the price were right. Steve also recommended utilizing this service for the NBA and other pro sports as well.
- Jeff is a sports addict. He plays in several fantasy football leagues, makes numerous March Madness brackets and is a diehard Boston Sports fan. "I no longer live in Boston, but I still want to show my support for the Sox, Celtics, Patriots and Bruins." Jeff added that he would spend up to $15-$20 per month for a service that allows him to swap jerseys as often as every week.
- For my interview with Scott, I was surprised to hear that although he plays in several fantasy leagues, he would not be interested in a jersey-rental service. "I don't ever wear sports jerseys, I'm much more of a casual sport fan." Obviously this service isn't for everyone, but I knew him to be a "sports addict" so I was thrown off by his interview.
- According to Brian, jerseys are all the rage in high schools across the country. "They were popular when I was in school, but now that I'm a substitute teacher, I see everyday how the jersey-obsession has exploded." Brian was concerned with how often he personally would use this service, but saw the potential among younger markets.
- As a Yankees fan, Cyrus loves his team, but doesn't know whose jersey to buy. "With a rental-type service, I could swap out jerseys until I found one that I liked. It's hard to buy a jersey when I don't know how long any of the players will be on the team." Cyrus said he'd be willing to spend up to $10 per month on something like this, which is about the equivalent of one NFL jersey price. He also recommended a student-pricing-plan to attract more kids.
- After conducting my interviews with some sports fans of differing enthusiasm, I learned that it will be difficult to gauge a specific target market outside of "general sports fans", as every person has different tastes. Obviously jerseys aren't for everyone, but I'd hope for potential support from different groups of people. Perhaps with more interviewing, a rounded hypothesis can be formed.
- I learned that sports will always be a dominant factor in our lives, as the five interviewees each showed a lot of passion for sport.
- It seems like a promising idea, but more research needs to be done into competitors, pricing, and general operation planning.
Hi Greg,
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great idea, I agreed with everything in the post. But I think the assignment wanted you to prod and question different aspects of your whos, whats, and whys whereas you just specified your opportunity. Otherwise, I feel you put a lot of effort into your ideas and the post was well-organized. Keep up the good work!
Hi Greg,
ReplyDeleteThe idea of a jersey rental system is very interesting. This is perfect for sports fans as players change teams often and teens outgrow clothes before they wear out. Not sure that this would be possible at a price point that customers would be comfortable with. Also April raises a good point about the subject of the interviews.