NBA China Stores Come Alive 

The NBA store in China is a fitting representation of the NBA’s strategy in China.

The U.S only has one NBA store to its name, while as of today, China already has six NBA stores in place to serve up its hungry fanbase: two stores in Beijing which opened up last year , two stores in Shanghai, and two in Changsha. That number is projected to be around 20 by the end of this year – and there is not even a glimpse of a league yet despite the formation of the NBA China entity.

In the summer of 2008 the NBA announced a partnership with the JuneYao Group (famous for launching China’s first privately operated charter plane service in the early 90’s). The plan is to use JuneYao’s local marketing expertise to set up a total of 2,000 branded retail outlets in China within the next couple of years.

At NBA China’s official store, fans can browse through an online store that gives them information on shops, products, events and promotions related exclusively to China. You can’t actually purchase anything from the store, so you will have to go check out one of their stores in person to get a hold of your favorite team’s apparel.

I did just that by going to Shanghai’s newly opened NBA Store this weekend (which according to the official site, isn’t even open yet). It’s situated in Shanghai’s most crowded shopping street (558 Nanjing Dong Lu) – and is said to have around 770 meter square of retail floor area . While there wasn’t exactly an overabundance of choices, they did have the standard range of products including NBA jerseys, shoes, basketball, bags, cups, cards, toys, key chains, memorabilia, and a variety of other accessories. Prices were quite high by China’s standards, but in line with other high end sports stores such as Nike and Adidas. Overall, it was a satisfying experience and the NBA brand was well presented. What remains to be seen is how China’s fake goods markets will react to this official licensed products nonsense…  

I leave you with some pictures from the  NBA Shanghai Store store on 558 Nanjing Dong Lu (Street):

Unsurprisingly, most of the products are for the Rockets, Celtics, Lakers, and Cavaliers. Other featured teams include ones with superstars (Magic, Heat, Wizards)…and the Milwaukee Bucks trying hard to get rid of their now useless Yi Jianlin stock.

Shaq’s poor free throw percentage explained.

It wouldn’t be a true Chinese NBA store without a Yao Ming bobblehead…

FYI, I’m 6’1 MAX…and I don’t think I really stand a chance guarding Dwight Howard as this picture seems to suggest…

Locals checking out the gear.

Warning: Jerseys aren’t of the highest quality!

The perfect item for spicing up the bedroom?…maybe in China.