Believe it or not, there is a Thai football club that sells up to 600,000 jerseys per year.
In 2019, this team earned 27,448,741 Thai baht (750,000 Euros) in just one matchday purely from merchandise sales. Although the club finished trophyless that season, they made 19-times more than the eventual champions in that department.
The name of this club?
Buriram United.
How can a team based in Thailand’s remote countryside surpass elite Premier League clubs in jersey sales? Follow along with Main Stand for the answer.
It’s the brand, not just the team.
Most Thai football executives will tell you that generating a profit is challenging. Sponsorship deals make up most of a club’s income and are hard to come by if teams aren’t getting results. With this in mind, owners wrongly emphasize just getting the job done on the pitch, often neglecting the possibility of generating income elsewhere.
Another obstacle for Thai clubs has to do with the lack of fans. It’s rare to see locals support a club from another province in Thailand. Sukhothai FC made only 300,000 Thai baht in merchandise sales in 2019, with most buyers being local Sukhothai residents.
Buriram United’s brand positioning is the secret to their success. They could have taken the easy way out and just focused on winning titles, but the club’s mission was to transcend the game on the pitch and expand the size of their potential market.
The club dominates in terms of merchandising, as jerseys, scarves, stickers and hoodies accompany an assortment of current and retro kits on the walls of their mega shop. Beyond football, the club has invested in hosting festivals, concerts, motorsports competitions and e-sports events to diversify the overall brand.
The team has backed up the hype off the pitch by also winning titles on it. Buriram United have swept the most Thai League titles (7) and regularly book tickets to the AFC Champions League (9), the continent’s premier competition.
Success on and off the field has earned them national recognition. Fans who purchased Buriram United’s merchandise didn’t need to watch them; their brand was the culture of winning.
The city where people wear football shirts every day
By a long shot, Buriram isn’t the most glamorous destination in Thailand. The province of 1.6 million people has few attractions besides the football club. Their home ground, the impressive 32,000-seater Chang Arena, invariably tops all guidebooks and tourist pamphlets for the province. Being the centerpiece of its province, the club has generated enthusiasm and loyalty unmatched by its competitors.
Almost every household in Buriram has at least one Buriram United jersey. Whenever new kits are on sale, people queue in front of the shop at dawn. Some wear it weekly, others don it seven days a week
If you ever travel to Buriram, you’ll be guaranteed to run into locals wearing Buriram kits. Even when the team’s performance drops, Buriram's merchandising sales always top the charts.
Thinking outside the box
Maintaining brand value may be Buriram United's primary focus, but that can only be sustained by keeping a diverse inventory of high-quality merchandise.
"Before I started working with Buriram United, football jerseys were our only product at the club,” explained the director of Buriram United Merchandise Department, Chidchanok Chidchob.
“I wasn't a big football fan or anything, but I know my father (Buriram United chairman Newin Chidchob) loves watching football so much. He always organized trips to football stadiums with the family when we traveled abroad. So I saw the atmosphere around those stadiums we visited, and I saw that their shops did sell everything from toothpicks to tanks.
"When I saw that, I realized our brand could always grow bigger. We can't have only football shirts. We should expand our merchandise, so I started creating other products.
"I realize that Buriram can make high sales of jerseys not just because of the product itself but other factors involved, such as the success of the team and the club's branding. So now Buriram jersey has become a must-have souvenir from Buriram province.”
Recently, Buriram United has upped their merchandise design to be in trend with the general public's wants. The brand has gone beyond representing the football club and dabbled into leisure attire. The club has diversified its ever-growing list of merchandise. Fans can shop over 100 types of products inside Buriram’s MegaStore. The list contains rare items such as Hawaiian shirts, bracelets, and dolls!
Furthermore, the club has shown social and environmental consciousness in its recent marketing moves. Last season, Buriram launched the ‘Together We Grow’ campaign, which included making its 2020 season jerseys entirely from reusable plastic bottles. The kits, each made from 14 recycled bottles, were an instant hit with fans, breaking the record for the most shirts sold in a single day by a Thai League club at 49,164.
Another unforgettable kit launch was Buriram United’s 2016 Valentine’s Day edition. The team decided to release its first-ever all-pink jersey to fit the theme. It was an instant hit as it became the fastest sold-out football kit in Thailand, with up to 20,000 sold in just five hours.
Whether it’s by upping the quality, introducing unique designs or being eco-friendly, Buriram United always manage to stay ahead of the curve and dominate the market as a result.
Affordable price
Another critical factor that makes Buriram United’s brand popular among the general public is their affordable prices. Instead of partnering with a sports brand, as most Thai clubs have done, Buriram was one of the first to produce everything in-house.
Famous brands usually price their jerseys at 890 to 1,900 baht, which is significantly higher than Buriram United’s kit. This has allowed them to dominate the market and grow a consumer base well beyond their home province.
Moving things in-house has given the club control over everything, from the production process to the final selling price. For example, the price of their aforementioned reusable bottles shirt remained at 690 Baht despite manufacturing costs increasing by 30%, a decision that ended up being a major commercial success.
Furthermore, the club has also managed to adapt their strategy to the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, they launched the "Drive-Thru Buriram United" project for fans to purchase merchandise while strictly maintaining the COVID-19 protocols.
Buriram United have shown that performance on the pitch isn’t the only source of revenue that a football club can generate. They have established a brand that continues to grow stronger and have an edge over clubs worldwide.
