Fanatics Will Shift to On-Demand Apparel Production
The retailer will use domestic printing to reduce losses from player trades and unpredictable demand.
Updated on Oct. 6, 2026 in Manufacturing
Live Poll
Do you trust that companies managing inventory more efficiently will ultimately benefit you as a consumer?
Fanatics plans to launch a new inventory production strategy by the end of 2026, transitioning to a model where suppliers hold blank apparel that is finished only after demand develops. This approach aims to protect margins from the risk of unsold merchandise after events like player trades.
Why it matters
The model minimizes financial exposure to obsolete inventory, such as the 175,000 unsold jerseys left after Micah Parsons was traded in 2025. By decoupling the blank supply from final customization, the company can better align production with real-time fan demand.
Fanatics previously achieved a $20 million inventory reduction through a specific demand planning project. The company plans to reach $65 million in total cost savings via improved inventory management, including $15 million specifically from this shift in production.
The players
Fanatics
A major retailer and manufacturer of licensed sports merchandise that holds a dominant position in the apparel supply chain for professional leagues.
o9 Solutions
A provider of enterprise planning software that enables companies to integrate demand, supply, and commercial data into a single forecast.
The details
Fanatics currently relies on overseas production for finished goods, which carries long lead times and inventory risks. Under the new strategy, the company will maintain stocks of blank garments, using domestic printing to fulfill orders based on event-based demand. This change utilizes o9 Solutions software to guide inventory decisions through a 24-month rolling forecast.
Timeline
Micah Parsons was traded from Dallas to Green Bay in 2025.
Fanatics utilized o9 software for demand planning in September 2026.
Inventory and supply planning work is expected to begin by the end of 2026.
Market Landscape
The 2025 trade of Micah Parsons from Dallas to Green Bay served as a catalyst for this strategic shift, highlighting the financial fragility of finished goods inventory. The transition reflects an industry-wide trend toward localized, on-demand manufacturing to mitigate the volatility of sports apparel demand.
Operators should evaluate their own inventory turnover against the costs of holding finished vs. raw goods. Assessing whether domestic customization or just-in-time production can improve margins is essential as consumer demand remains highly tied to unpredictable market events.
The takeaway
The move underscores the value of maintaining a flexible supply chain that separates blank inventory from final SKU configuration. Operators should track the success of this demand-planning integration as a signal for whether regionalizing finishing processes can offset the cost of long-lead overseas production.
Further reading
For more on shifts in production and supply chain strategy, see Manufacturing.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Supplychain247.
Live Poll
Do you trust that companies managing inventory more efficiently will ultimately benefit you as a consumer?
