Christmas when Messi became an ‘outlet’

Neither Nike before, nor now the company founded by the club that manages the sales data of t-shirts for five years, Barça Licensing & Merchandising Sl (BLM), provide numbers on the volume of sales under the pretext of “confidentiality”. but the sources consulted help to draw where sales are heading in these hectic Christmas shopping days when Messi no longer wears the Barça colors. “It should be clear that people don’t buy Messi shirts, they buy Barça shirts. Back then, Messi was the idol and obviously a lot of them were sold under his name. Now there is a diversification, which can range from to buy it without a name, for everyone to personalize it as they wish or for there to be new references “, explains a former senior executive of the club.

The emergence of new benchmarks is a process in which there are several factors: from the club’s commitment to promote some players, making them leaders in advertising campaigns, to circumstantial factors, such as individual awards or whether the player goes through a highlight of the game. “When Neymar left, the impact was different. People still had great idols at Barça to buy their shirts, like Messi himself or Suárez. In recent years, however, it is true that Messi’s shirt, to say the least “In a way, I was hoarding everything. This is more distributed now,” the source said. Among the male players that Barça promotes the most in its official stores are the following: Ansu Fati, Pedri, Memphis and Frenkie de Jong.

From Dani Alves to Xavi

Before playing against Elche, in the last game at the Camp Nou next to the Christmas festivities, the tingling of people in the official store in the stadium facilities is constant. Just enter, a large Ansu Fati poster links directly to the gaze of potential buyers. “Memphis and De Jong jerseys are generally one of the best-selling. : he is the heir of number 10 “, explains one of the employees of the store, a few meters from the stamping workshop on the ground floor. On TVs where the commands are written you can also see how the individual circumstances of each player are another factor. In addition to the names of each person, there are orders for the stamps of players such as Gavi and Ez Abde, but also others with the names of Xavi and Dani Alves. “There are a lot of people who are putting Xavi on his return, while Alves had more impact when his signing was announced and he was presented,” says the worker.

In fact, in the Catalan interface of the Barça online store, when the user agrees to buy the first shirt of this season, below is the option to personalize it by adding the name and number. of a player. An algorithm presents a pre-established order of options: the first to appear is that of Dani Alves, followed by those of Ansu Fati and Memphis. They complete the top 5 from this list of Frenkie de Jong and Piqué suggestions. Instead, the last on the list is the other De Jong, Luuk, who has his hours numbered at the club. On the other hand, there are also cases of players who, despite not having a name promoted in Barcelona stores or on the web, are interesting for the club from the brand’s point of view, because they open the doors to new markets. This is the case of Sergiño Dest, who has allowed Barça to gain an impact in the American market, although he has not performed well on the pitch.

And what about Messi’s shirt? “You won’t find it in Barça’s official stores. We haven’t sold it since August. At most, you’ll have to go look it up at a outlet“If you want a T-shirt this season with the name and number of the Argentinian, you have to ask at the store’s stamping shop. But that doesn’t mean Barça is working on a supply with Nike in the coming months, at the request of the American multinational. they were not for sale, it was done in October last year, when the club placed an order with printed bibs of players who would no doubt follow the club, such as Gerard Piqué. “On the stage at the time, despite everything that was happening at the board – Bartomeu resigned at the end of October – it was said that Messi would continue at Barça”, admits a ex-worker of the entity, so Rosario star t-shirts were stocked.

Messi’s shirt, 70%

The Messi shirts that remain in the club’s possession have become, in large part, a product ofoutlet. From time to time, BLM organizes private sales days – for members, staff of the organization, etc. – where you can find Barça products, especially from previous seasons, which have been reduced in price. At one of these conferences, held at the beginning of December at the 1899 Auditorium, a series of T-shirts corresponding to the current year under the name of Messi, which could be purchased at a 70% discount, stood out as soon as they entered. In short, a replica T-shirt worn by players in the league valued at 160 euros could be bought for less than 50. There was only one other outstanding product with the same discount: the Griezmann shirt. “Messi’s is not being sold in particular, much less Griezmann’s,” said one employee. However, he explains that, for example, “there are people who ask for Messi’s shirt from last year on the website. It is the last time he played for Barça”. A historical piece.

There are also other Argentine stock products that can be purchased during these days with great discounts. This is the case with scarves with his face or canteens with his back. They do not arouse much curiosity in a shopkeeper who is having a video call with her father and is carrying a child-sized Messi T-shirt, but from two seasons ago. He found it “very well priced” and, despite no longer being there, “Messi is Barça’s history”. He bought it as a gift this Christmas, the first without the Argentine in Catalonia. However, Messi still manages to sneak into some houses as a gift.