Dick’s Sporting Goods’ exclusive clothing brand, DSG, is collaborating with the
WNBA
to launch a girls apparel collection.
Dick’s (
NYSE: DKS
), the W’s Official Sporting Goods Retail Partner, carries an assortment of authentic league sports apparel and equipment. This WNBA collection is the DSG brand’s first collaboration with a professional sports league, and it’s the first official WNBA lifestyle collection made just for young girls. The unique apparel designs pay homage to the WNBA’s iconic orange and the colors of the league’s 12 teams.
Dick’s said the collection is inspired by “white space” it saw in youth girls’ apparel. The collection does not have individual team apparel; instead, it is essentially putting forward the league’s IP, similar to the league’s signature orange sweatshirts. Unlike other major U.S. sports leagues, WNBA has been betting on promoting the league as a whole.
“With momentum for the WNBA at an all-time high, we’re thrilled to bring this new set of apparel to our passionate fan base,” Colie Edison, the WNBA’s chief growth officer, said in a video call.
The Pittsburgh-based retailer’s partnership with the league is expected to be profitable. Dick’s has been expanding its private label business—a collection of brands owned by Dick’s and available exclusively in its stores, including DSG—and collectively it now now accounts for 13% of its net sales, per the latest
annual report
, bringing in $1.6 billion in in fiscal year 2023. This collaboration with the WNBA is expected to further enhance Dick’s private label business, known for its higher profitability, as the company does not have to share a portion of its sales with the brands.
“One of the reasons why we felt like it was a good business decision to be a partner of the W is they have such a growing and engaged fan base, and I think this rookie class in particular has just amplified that and accelerated it,” Melissa Christian, the vice president of divisional merchandise and youth apparel at Dick’s, said. “We’re really excited about those longstanding, very loyal fans of the W, but also the new fans that we will be seeing coming into our doors and into the league this year.”
The
WNBA
is entering its 28th season, and the collaboration is another example of the league’s increasing brand recognition and popularity. In addition to the attention created by by the arrival of rookies
Caitlin Clark
,
Angel Reese
and Kamilla Cardoso, the league’s regular season viewership has more than doubled since 2019, reaching over half a million viewers in 2023.
“The WNBA is not about one player, and it’s never been about a player,” Edison said.
The DSG x WNBA collection will be available in over 250 Dicks Sporting Goods stores across the nation and on Dick’s website.