The Winnipeg Jets may not have made the playoffs this year, but the hockey team did finish first in the NHL in one category: sales of licensed merchandise.
The pronouncement comes as no surprise to anyone in the Manitoba capital, where the team's logo has become as omnipresent as images of Che Guevara in Cuba.
Thousands of different items, ranging from jerseys to hats, T-shirts, beer mugs, cufflinks, dog beds and tissues, have flown off the shelves since the logo was launched last July.
"The Winnipeg Jets brand [is a] resounding retail success, ultimately resulting in the highest sale of licensed product of any team in the NHL in the 2011-12 season," said Norva Riddell, senior vice-president of sales and marketing at True North Sports & Entertainment. (The NHL does not release the specific sales figures of different teams.)
The Jets' impact continues to be felt in downtown Winnipeg as well, where the team's arena is located.
CentreVenture, the city's downtown redevelopment agency, just announced plans to make the central business district a more vibrant and desirable destination.
Starting in August, the first phase of a new image for the sports, hospitality and entertainment district will begin. New pedestrian lighting, banners, seating and paving will be unveiled on Donald Street. Over the next three years, the same improvements will be undertaken on an 11-block area at a cost of between $2 million and $3 million.
from Western Investor July 2012
