6月末，就在籃球界屏息期待超級(jí)明星、自由人勒布朗·詹姆斯明年會(huì)加入哪支球隊(duì)的消息時(shí)，在線授權(quán)體育商品零售商Fanatics卻在忙著做球衣。這位前克利夫蘭騎士隊(duì)的球員會(huì)選擇洛杉磯湖人隊(duì)，還是費(fèi)城76人隊(duì)？

對(duì)于Fanatics來(lái)說(shuō)，這一點(diǎn)無(wú)關(guān)緊要。因?yàn)樵诳纤?、北卡和佛羅里達(dá)州的倉(cāng)庫(kù)中，這位零售商正在生產(chǎn)兩支球隊(duì)的空白球衣，而且隨時(shí)可以把詹姆士的名字和球衣號(hào)印上去。當(dāng)四次榮獲NBA最有價(jià)值球員榮譽(yù)的勒布朗宣布，以1.54億美元的四年期合約價(jià)格加入湖人隊(duì)時(shí)，F(xiàn)anatics馬上就開(kāi)足馬力印制球衣。得益于獨(dú)家授權(quán)和生產(chǎn)權(quán)，該公司在數(shù)小時(shí)之內(nèi)便把新球衣擺上了自家網(wǎng)站和NBA.com的貨架。與預(yù)期的一樣，詹姆斯的湖人隊(duì)球衣成為了網(wǎng)上的熱賣商品。

這種上市速度和生產(chǎn)靈活性得益于Fanatics數(shù)年來(lái)致力于成為21世紀(jì)零售商的不懈努力，即成為一家集科技、物流和生產(chǎn)于一身的公司，而且Fanatics與職業(yè)體育聯(lián)盟達(dá)成的獨(dú)家代理權(quán)數(shù)量也在不斷增長(zhǎng)。Fanatics的創(chuàng)始人、所有者和執(zhí)行董事長(zhǎng)邁克·魯賓稱這種模式為“垂直商業(yè)”。不管叫什么名字，這一模式讓Fanatics備受職業(yè)體育聯(lián)盟的青睞，而Fanatics也借此攬獲了亞馬遜所沒(méi)有的事物——更多的獨(dú)家代理權(quán)。

魯賓向《財(cái)富》雜志透露，“如果你銷售的商品在阿里巴巴或亞馬遜也能買得到，那么你就該卷鋪蓋回家了?！?

IN LATE JUNE, as the basketball world waited with bated breath for word of where superstar and free agent LeBron James would play next year, online licensed sports merchandise retailer Fanatics was busy making jerseys. Would the former Cleveland Cavalier choose the Los Angeles Lakers or the Philadelphia 76ers?

To Fanatics, it didn’t matter. At its warehouses in Kentucky, North Carolina, and Florida, the retailer prepared blank jerseys for both teams, ready to be finished with James’s name and number. Once the four-time National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player announced he would become a Laker in a four-year, $154 million contract, Fanatics sprang into action. Within hours, it had new merchandise ready for sale on its own website and on NBA.com, thanks to exclusive licensing and manufacturing rights. As expected, James’s Lakers jersey flew off the digital shelves.

That kind of speed to market and manufacturing flexibility, coupled with Fanatics’ growing number of exclusive deals with the professional sports leagues, is the result of years of effort to become a 21st-century retailer: part tech company, part logistics company, part manufacturer. Fanatics’ founder, owner, and executive chairman, Michael Rubin, calls it “vertical commerce” or “v-commerce.” Whatever the name, it has endeared Fanatics to pro sports leagues, which in turn have rewarded Fanatics with something Amazon doesn’t have: more exclusive rights.

“If you’re selling the same merchandise as what’s available on Alibaba or Amazon, you should quit and go home,” Rubin tells Fortune.

5月，國(guó)家橄欖球聯(lián)盟授予Fanatics一項(xiàng)10年期的獨(dú)家代理權(quán)，從2020年起制作和銷售面向粉絲的國(guó)家橄欖球聯(lián)盟服飾。（耐克將負(fù)責(zé)提供球員的賽場(chǎng)裝備。）NBA專員亞當(dāng)·斯?fàn)柧S在去年的一次會(huì)議上談?wù)擊斮e時(shí)表示，“他是這塊市場(chǎng)的所有者。”就像超級(jí)明星詹姆斯一樣，成為這一領(lǐng)域的王者是件十分有利的事情：私營(yíng)企業(yè)Fanatics是美國(guó)體育授權(quán)服飾市場(chǎng)數(shù)字業(yè)務(wù)的主導(dǎo)者，該公司今年的營(yíng)收有望達(dá)到230億美元，而8年前為2.5億美元。研究公司IBIS World估計(jì)，美國(guó)授權(quán)服飾市場(chǎng)的年銷售額約為78億美元，每年增長(zhǎng)約3%。

對(duì)于電子商務(wù)革命來(lái)說(shuō)，這一領(lǐng)域已經(jīng)足夠成熟。授權(quán)職業(yè)聯(lián)盟體育商品的在線銷售已從10年前占美國(guó)零售總額的1%升至如今的20%。IBIS World分析師克萊爾·歐康納說(shuō)：“在體育領(lǐng)域，事情可能會(huì)變化的異常之快，只要球員在某一場(chǎng)比賽中發(fā)揮出色，他們的受歡迎度就會(huì)迅速升溫。在線上，人們轉(zhuǎn)移注意力的速度會(huì)快得多?！?

Fanatics的發(fā)展軌跡讓它獲得了來(lái)自于頂級(jí)投資者的注資，包括Andreessen Horowitz、Silver Lake、阿里巴巴和軟銀。軟銀在2017年領(lǐng)投了數(shù)十億美元的融資輪，并對(duì)Fanatics給出了45億美元的估價(jià)，其他投資者包括國(guó)家橄欖球聯(lián)盟和職業(yè)棒球大聯(lián)盟。這并非是魯賓第一次與日本財(cái)團(tuán)打交道。1999年，軟銀對(duì)魯賓組建的GSI Commerce公司注資，他于2011年以24億美元的價(jià)格將該公司賣給了eBay。（其中包括Fanatics，作為協(xié)議的一部分，他留在Fanatics任職。）魯賓的其他業(yè)務(wù)還包括搶購(gòu)網(wǎng)站 RueLaLa和ShopRunner。

GSI已經(jīng)獲得了五個(gè)聯(lián)盟的電商銷售權(quán)，但魯賓深知，自己新成立的公司不應(yīng)只局限于銷售。因此，他在攬獲更多代理權(quán)的同時(shí)組建了生產(chǎn)線。去年，F(xiàn)anatics從VF Corp手中收購(gòu)了運(yùn)動(dòng)服飾生產(chǎn)商Majestic，后者通過(guò)為職業(yè)棒球大聯(lián)盟制作賽事隊(duì)服。Fanatics還從CAA手中收購(gòu)了體育授權(quán)代理商Fermata Partners，以打造其大學(xué)業(yè)務(wù)。

Fanatics每年在科技和生產(chǎn)設(shè)施方面的花費(fèi)達(dá)到了1.4億美元，但其策略并非完全專注于數(shù)字業(yè)務(wù)。公司最近簽署了一項(xiàng)協(xié)議，在350家J.C. Penney店面內(nèi)部打造品牌店，并接手了全美冰球聯(lián)盟曼哈頓旗艦店的經(jīng)營(yíng)。（公司已經(jīng)在經(jīng)營(yíng)NBA在曼哈頓的旗艦店）。Fanatics還在頂級(jí)體育場(chǎng)館運(yùn)營(yíng)著40個(gè)球隊(duì)的店面，這一數(shù)字還在不斷增加。在某些店面，公司允許消費(fèi)者在店面在線下單。

Fanatics半數(shù)收入來(lái)自于自制的產(chǎn)品。魯賓認(rèn)為其年?duì)I收在不久的未來(lái)有望達(dá)到100億美元。

他說(shuō)：“體育是最好的一個(gè)行業(yè)。知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)可謂是價(jià)值連城?！保ㄘ?cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

本文刊登于《財(cái)富》2018年9月1日刊，標(biāo)題為“令人歡呼雀躍的授權(quán)業(yè)務(wù)”。

譯者：Charlie

審校：夏林

In May, the National Football League gave Fanatics a 10-year exclusive to make and sell NFL clothing for fans starting in 2020. (Nike will handle on-field gear.) “He owns this marketplace,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said of Rubin at a conference last year. As with the superstar James, it’s good to be king: The privately held Fanatics, which is set to rake in $2.3 billion this year, up from $250 million eight years ago, dominates the digital part of a U.S. sports licensed apparel market that research firm IBIS World estimates to be worth $7.8 billion in annual sales and growing 3% a year.

The category is particularly ripe for an e-commerce revolution. Online sales of licensed pro league sports merchandise have grown from 1% of total U.S. sales a decade ago to 20% today. “With sports, things can change so fast—a player has a great game, they shoot up in popularity. When you’re online, you can shift your focus much more quickly,” says IBIS World analyst Claire O’Connor.

Fanatics’ trajectory has earned it funding from top investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Silver Lake, Alibaba, and SoftBank, the last of which led a billion-dollar financing round in 2017 that included the NFL and Major League Baseball and valued Fanatics at $4.5 billion. It’s not Rubin’s first time doing business with the Japanese conglomerate. In 1999, SoftBank invested money in GSI Commerce, a Rubin-founded firm that he sold to eBay in 2011 for $2.4 billion. (It included Fanatics, which he held on to as part of the deal.) His other businesses have included flash-sales site RueLaLa and ShopRunner.

GSI had obtained e-commerce rights for five leagues, but Rubin knew he had to go beyond sales in his newer venture. So he set about acquiring more rights as he ramped up manufacturing. Last year Fanatics bought athletic apparel maker Majestic, which makes on-field uniforms for the MLB, from VF Corp. It also acquired sports licensing agency Fermata Partners from CAA to build up its college business.

Fanatics spends about $140 million a year on its tech and manufacturing firepower, but its strategy isn’t purely digital. It recently signed a deal to build branded shops in 350 J.C. Penney stores and took over operations of the National Hockey League flagship store in Manhattan. (It already runs the NBA’s.) The company also operates 40 team stores and counting at top sports venues; at some, it can fulfill online orders placed on site.

Fanatics derives half its revenue from products it makes itself. Rubin believes its annual revenue could grow to $10 billion in the not-so-distant future.

“There is no better category than sports,” he says. “The intellectual property is so valuable.”

A version of this article appears in the September 1, 2018 issue of Fortune with the headline “Licensed To Thrill.”