FANATICS INKS DEAL WITH JAKPRINTS TO HELP BOOST FAN APPAREL BUSINESS

Fanatics Inc. and Jakprints Inc. have announced a new five-year partnership deal that will allow Jakprints to support the domestic production needs of Fanatics, the world’s largest distributor of licensed sports merchandise, which holds apparel and fan gear licenses with all major sports leagues and hundreds of professional and collegiate partners.

With this partnership Jakprints will open a new 140,000-square-foot facility in Eastlake, OH, which includes a $7 million investment in state-of-the-art equipment and the creation of over 100 new jobs. This facility will be the third Jakprints location in addition to its other facilities in downtown Cleveland, OH and Oceanside, CA.

The new partnership incorporates a variety of Jakprints’ production capabilities including screen printing, full color transfers, dye sublimation, embroidery, and made-to-order digital printing with the goal of supporting Fanatics as they continue offering the widest assortment of merchandise across all categories, including a growing direct-to-consumer and wholesale business.

“We continue to build strategic partnerships that drive our integrated domestic embellishment strategy,” said Jim Hardy, SVP of Supply Chain for Fanatics. “This strategy is built on delivering manufacturing agility and speed to market. We are proud to continue partnering with Jakprints to exceed our fan’s expectations on quality and speed.”

“We couldn’t be more excited about our long-term partnership with the world’s leader in licensed sports merchandising,” added Jed Seifert, co-owner of Jakprints. “Fanatics has been a valued strategic partner of Jakprints for the past few years. The new partnership sets the stage for both companies to capitalize on their rapid expansion plans through mutually beneficial growth strategies including the addition of our new facility in Eastlake, OH as well as our continued investment in print innovations.”