Earnhardt’s team eyeing apparel pact

His line of ClimaCool wear may make it to major sporting goods retailers.

SPORTING NEWS NASCAR WIRE SERVICE

While Dale Earnhardt Jr. was choreographing his move to Hendrick Motorsports, his marketing team at JR Motorsports has been working on an apparel deal with Adidas that could put his own line of ClimaCool wear in major sporting goods retailers, a place where NASCAR has had no presence.

Earnhardt announced last week that he’s going to drive for Hendrick Motorsports in 2008, giving that team a powerhouse stable that also includes Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. But Earnhardt’s own endorsement muscle is again evident in the deal with Adidas, which is believed to be a separate agreement from Earnhardt’s new relationship at Hendrick. It’s uncertain if the Adidas relationship might blossom into a team sponsorship deal.

NASCAR-related apparel and merchandise essentially has been nonexistent in the top sporting goods chains and Adidas’ relationships in that space could provide a significant distribution push for Earnhardt’s apparel.

“This is a very interesting strategy,” said Neil Schwartz, an analyst for SportSCAN Info, a West Palm Beach, Fla., firm that tracks the sporting goods industry. “There is a lot of NASCAR merchandise sold, but a lot of it is online, and the at-track business is monumental. What you haven’t seen is a lot of lifestyle apparel, jerseys [and] golf shirts.”

Potential

Mark Dyer, NASCAR’s vice president of licensing and consumer products, called apparel “the least-developed part of the sport.” Although Dyer didn’t talk specifically about the Adidas deal, he said any development in that area “could pave the way for major athletic apparel companies to take a meaningful position in the sport.”

Starter, a Nike brand, entered NASCAR earlier this year with a team deal at Joe Gibbs Racing, and it also had Motorsports Authentics develop a line of merchandise for trackside sales and other distribution. Starter has negotiated through the spring with other teams, as well as NASCAR’s licensing office, and more team deals are expected by the end of the year. Reebok also has talked to NASCAR about footwear and apparel deals.

Eyes different direction

Earnhardt, though, was looking to go in a different direction. Sources say he was more interested in the “lifestyle” approach that Adidas offered through its ClimaCool brand, which could include Dale Jr. jerseys, performance T-shirts or other mainstream sportswear, as well as footwear. No launch date for any lifestyle line could be determined.

Adidas’ power at big retailers such as Foot Locker and The Sports Authority should push Dale Jr. apparel into the sports specialty channel, but a lifestyle play also might be considered a disconnect with Adidas’ significant positioning as a performance brand, with on-court apparel rights.

The association with Earnhardt’s “everyman” reputation does, however, give Germany-based Adidas more of a red, white and blue feel. Earnhardt currently counts Wrangler jeans among his sponsors.