Club Merchandise: How Barcelona, United and Dortmund Run It
Football club merchandise is every product sold under a club's name and crest, from replica shirts to pins and keyrings. Clubs sell it through shops they run themselves, through a retail partner, or by licensing product categories to other companies.
This article looks at how five clubs actually run their merchandise, using what each club has published itself: annual reports, investor filings and partnership announcements. It shows who runs the shops, who runs the online store and who holds which licence at FC Barcelona, Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund, Leeds United and Hibernian, what has changed since 2024, and where licensed collectibles fit.
Key Takeaways
- Every club’s merchandise rests on four jobs: making the kit, running the shops, running the online store and licensing everything else. A club’s model is simply who does which job.
- FC Barcelona and Manchester United run their own retail and e-commerce today. Both moved to that model in 2024.
- Leeds United and Hibernian hand their online store and stadium shop to a retail partner, Fanatics, which also makes part of the range.
- Borussia Dortmund runs merchandising through its own subsidiary and works with an outside partner on its international online store.
- Licensing out by category is common to all of them. Manchester United grants most product licences on a non-exclusive basis for specific product categories and regions.
- Hard goods such as pins, keyrings, medals and trophy replicas usually come from category licensees, whichever retail model a club runs.
In This Article
- Key Takeaways
- Football Club Merchandise: The Four Jobs Behind Every Shop
- FC Barcelona and Manchester United: Retail Run by the Club
- Leeds United and Hibernian: A Retail Partner Runs the Shops
- Manchester United and FC Barcelona: Licensing Out by Category
- Borussia Dortmund: A Subsidiary With a Platform Partner
- What Changed Since 2024: Clubs Moving Between Models
- Club Merchandise Models Compared
- How a Club Brings Licensed Collectibles Into Its Range
Football Club Merchandise: The Four Jobs Behind Every Shop
Football club merchandise comes from four jobs: designing and supplying the kit, running physical shops, running the online store, and licensing other product categories. A club’s model is the answer to one question: which of these jobs does it keep?
At Manchester United, FC Barcelona and Leeds United, the kit job sits with a sportswear brand. Manchester United’s annual report on Form 20-F for 2025/26 says its match and training collections are redesigned for each season by adidas. FC Barcelona describes Nike’s role as product creation, supply chain management and global distribution of its products.
The other three jobs are where clubs differ. Some run shops and e-commerce with their own staff, some hand both to a retail partner, and nearly all license categories such as homeware, toys or collectibles to specialists. The market is large: the Licensing International study for 2025, as reported by FashionUnited, puts global retail sales in the sports licensing category at 44.4 billion US dollars, up 8.5 percent, and online at 32 percent of all licensed retail sales.
FC Barcelona and Manchester United: Retail Run by the Club
FC Barcelona and Manchester United both own their shops and online stores, employ the retail teams and hold the stock. They keep the full retail margin and the customer data, and they carry the cost of inventory, staff and logistics.
FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona runs merchandising through its subsidiary Barça Licensing & Merchandising (BLM). The club’s report on the 2024/25 merchandise year says it regained full control of its global retail and e-commerce business at the start of that season, and that online sales tripled the previous year’s revenue.
The same report lists 15 directly managed club stores and six licensed outlets, with online sales in 171 countries. Nike stays the kit partner, so even this club-run model leaves the kit job with a brand and some store locations with licensees.
Manchester United
Manchester United operates its flagship store at Old Trafford, which trades all year, not only on matchdays. In October 2024 the club launched its own direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform, built with the technology company SCAYLE, and 2025/26 was its first full year of trading under that model, according to the 20-F.
The filing reports retail, merchandising, apparel and product licensing revenue of 125.1 million pounds in 2023/24, 144.9 million in 2024/25 and 156.8 million in 2025/26, and credits the latest rise to the first full year of the new e-commerce model, together with a one-off credit under its amended terms. The adidas agreement shows how the jobs are split: its minimum guarantee does not include the club’s mono-branded licensing rights or the right to operate physical retail and e-commerce channels, so those stay with the club.
Leeds United and Hibernian: A Retail Partner Runs the Shops
At Leeds United and Hibernian, a retail partner operates the online store and the stadium shop, buys and holds the stock, and makes part of the range. The club keeps the brand and approves the product.
Leeds United
Leeds United’s announcement of its retail partnership (November 2024) names Fanatics as the exclusive operator of the club’s online store and of all official retail locations in the city, including the flagship store at Elland Road. Fanatics also distributes the club’s adidas product and holds the rights to make a range of fanwear and accessories.
The new online store was due to launch with the partnership in summer 2025. The club describes Fanatics as working with more than 900 sports clubs and organisations, which is the scale argument for this model: shared platforms, warehouses and buying power that one club would struggle to build alone.
Hibernian
Hibernian’s partnership announcement (June 2024) follows the same pattern. Fanatics became the exclusive operator of the official online store, runs the stadium store at Easter Road and event retail, and designs, makes and distributes additional fan product, including replica kits, training and lifestyle wear.
Both announcements describe the partner’s own production as apparel and fanwear. Neither mentions metal collectibles, which leaves those categories open for the club to license separately.
Manchester United and FC Barcelona: Licensing Out by Category
Licensing out means the club grants another company the right to make and sell one product category under its marks, in return for royalties and often a minimum guarantee. The club approves designs and keeps control of the brand, but does not make or stock the goods.
What a category licence covers
Manchester United’s 20-F is unusually clear on this. The club grants product licences across a wide range of products, receives royalties on sales and, under some agreements, a minimum guaranteed payment. The majority of licences are non-exclusive and cover specific product categories within a specific country or region.
The club also licenses retail itself: its branded store in Macau is operated under franchise by a third-party licensee. FC Barcelona’s six licensed outlets work the same way. For the mechanics of approvals, royalties and advances, see how a sports merchandise licence works, step by step.
Why hard goods are licensed out
Pins, keyrings, medals and trophy replicas need die tooling, metal plating and enamel work that apparel retailers do not run. That is why clubs usually license them to specialists, whether the club runs its own shops or not, and then stock the finished goods in their stores and online.
Am Ball, a Munich-based design, licensing and production-management agency for official collectibles and merchandise, works in exactly this role: it is an official licensee of FC Barcelona, Chelsea FC, Olympique de Marseille, 1. FC Nürnberg and ACF Fiorentina, as well as the Bundesliga, the DFB and UEFA. Its licensed range centres on metal collectibles: pins, keyrings, medals and trophy replicas.
Borussia Dortmund: A Subsidiary With a Platform Partner
Borussia Dortmund runs merchandising through a subsidiary of its own and works with an outside partner on its international online store. It is a hybrid, and in practice every club in this article mixes models to some degree.
Dortmund’s annual report for 2024/25 reports merchandising as a separate segment, carried out by BVB Merchandising GmbH, a legally independent subsidiary. For online sales, the club entered a long-term partnership with Legends in 2024 to set up an international e-commerce platform; according to the law firm that advised the club, Legends also supports marketing for the online store’s growth abroad.
So Dortmund keeps the merchandise business inside the group, uses a partner’s platform for growth abroad, and still works with a kit brand and category licensees. For what this looks like from the shopper’s side, compare how Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund run their online stores.
What Changed Since 2024: Clubs Moving Between Models
Since 2024, clubs have moved in both directions: FC Barcelona and Manchester United took retail and e-commerce under their own control, while Leeds United and Hibernian handed theirs to a retail partner. Dortmund added a platform partner to its own subsidiary.
- Hibernian, June 2024: Fanatics becomes exclusive operator of the online store, the Easter Road stadium store and event retail.
- Borussia Dortmund, 2024: long-term partnership with Legends for an international e-commerce platform, alongside BVB Merchandising GmbH.
- FC Barcelona, 2024/25: the club regains full control of its global retail and e-commerce through BLM.
- Manchester United, October 2024: launch of the club’s own e-commerce platform, built with SCAYLE; 2025/26 is the first full year.
- Leeds United, summer 2025: Fanatics takes over the online store and all official stores in the city.
None of these moves touched the kit partner or the practice of licensing other categories. What changed was who runs the till, online and in the stadium.
Club Merchandise Models Compared
The four models differ in what the club keeps and what it hands over. One line per model, with the clubs from this article as examples.
Which of these suits a professional, regional or amateur club is a separate question, answered in our guide to which merchandise model fits which size of club.
How a Club Brings Licensed Collectibles Into Its Range
A licensed collectible reaches the shelf in five steps: the club or rights holder grants the category licence, the licensee designs the piece, the club approves the sample, the licensee produces the series, and the club’s store or retail partner stocks it. The retail model changes only the last step.
Here is a worked scenario. A club runs its stadium shop and online store through a retail partner and wants a numbered pin and a keyring for an anniversary match. The club’s licensee for metal collectibles drafts both designs, and the club’s brand team approves them.
Collectibles of this kind also work across competitions. For clubs in the Champions League, Am Ball develops co-branded pieces that put the club crest and the competition emblem on one product, with pedestals engraved with title years and bespoke editions for the club shop, as its UEFA Champions League case study shows. On its projects, a sample takes 2 to 3 weeks on average and series production about 4 weeks after sample approval, depending on complexity and volume, with shipping on top; orders typically start around 300 units.
For the anniversary scenario, that makes the time a successful delivery needs easy to plan. Assume the club’s own approval adds about a week: sample, approval and series then come to about 7 to 8 weeks before shipping. Agree the quantity with the retail partner before production, add the shipping time your licensee quotes, and the right time to order is a few months before the match.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do football clubs make their own merchandise?
Rarely. Kits come from a sportswear brand, and most other products come from licensees or a retail partner that makes part of the range. Clubs design, approve and sell, and some run their own shops and online stores.
What does an outsourced retail partner do for a club?
It runs the club’s online store and usually the stadium shop, holds the stock and often makes part of the range. At Leeds United and Hibernian, Fanatics took on these roles under exclusive, long-term agreements.
How do clubs license merchandise by category?
The club grants a company the right to make one product category, often for a set region, in return for royalties and sometimes a minimum guarantee. Manchester United says most of its product licences are non-exclusive and limited by category and region.
Can a club change its merchandise model?
Yes. FC Barcelona took back full control of its global retail and e-commerce, and Manchester United moved to its own e-commerce platform in October 2024. Leeds United went the other way: it announced a retail partner in November 2024, which took over its stores and online shop in summer 2025.
Who makes licensed pins, keyrings and trophy replicas for clubs?
Specialist licensees with die tooling, plating and enamel work at their factories or partner factories. The club approves each design and sample before production starts.
Conclusion
Football club merchandise is a set of four jobs, and every club splits them differently: Barcelona and Manchester United keep retail and e-commerce, Leeds United and Hibernian hand them to a partner, and Dortmund mixes both. Across all of them, collectibles and other hard goods come from category licensees.
If you are planning licensed collectibles for your club shop or a retail partner’s range, talk to our team about licensing and production.
