VfB Stuttgart: Merchandise Passes 20 Million Euros

Dominik Mittermaier · November 8, 2026

Merchandise is the business of selling shirts, scarves and other fan products under a club's name. Even a few public figures, such as shop revenue and shirt sales, show how many people want to wear a brand and how fast that demand grows.

In This Article

• A Cup Win and the Champions League in Record Years
• The Club Shop Grows 70% in a Year
• As a Share of Income, VfB Is in Line With the League
• VfB Renews Its Identity and Keeps the Crest
• Clubs That Sell Directly Count Differently
• Six Questions to Ask of the Next Merchandise Figure
• Sources and method

In August 2026 the consultancy Brand Finance named VfB Stuttgart the fastest-growing brand among the world’s 50 most valuable football brands. VfB’s brand value rose by 99% to 183.5 million euros. Brand value is an estimate from a valuation model, not a sales figure.

The club’s sales figures tell the same story. In the 2024/25 season, VfB’s merchandise revenue passed 20 million euros for the first time, while Bundesliga merchandise revenue as a whole grew by just over 5%. More telling than the record is merchandise’s share of the club’s income. On that measure, VfB has caught up with the league average.

A Cup Win and the Champions League in Record Years

The figures cover strong years on the pitch. VfB played in the Champions League in 2024/25. In May 2025 it beat Arminia Bielefeld 4-2 to win the DFB-Pokal, the German cup, for the first time since 1997. In Brand Finance’s words, it was the club’s first major trophy since 2007. A year later it was back in the final, which FC Bayern won.

VfB finished fourth in the 2025/26 Bundesliga. That took it straight into the league phase of the 2026/27 Champions League.

The finances of VfB Stuttgart 1893 AG, the company that runs the professional team, have kept pace. The club reported revenue of 217.9 million euros for 2023, total income of 299.8 million euros for 2024 and total income of 383.6 million euros for 2025. Profit was 15.4 million euros in 2024 and 22.5 million euros after tax in 2025. According to the club, transfer income and the Champions League contributed significantly to the rise in income and profit in 2024.

The members’ club is growing too: about 122,000 members in March 2025, about 135,000 in July 2026.

The Club Shop Grows 70% in a Year

According to the club, merchandise revenue rose from 10 to 17 million euros in 2024. That is 70% in one year. For the 2024/25 season the Stuttgarter Zeitung then reported more than 20 million euros for the first time, a club record. One figure covers a calendar year, the other a season.

Shirt sales show the growth most clearly. VfB sold 70,000 shirts in 2023/24, a club record at the time. A year later it sold 150,000. The new shirt sold 10,000 within just over a week of its launch in July 2025.

The kit supplier is Jako, on a contract that runs until 30 June 2029. When the deal was extended in 2022, Jako also became a shareholder in VfB Stuttgart 1893 AG.

In July 2026 the club reported 156,500 shirts sold, more than ever before. The release does not say what period that covers, and the club has not yet published a euro figure for merchandise in 2025. Merchandise already passed 20 million euros in 2024/25 and shirt sales have risen again since, so the next figure is likely to be above 20 million euros too.

As a Share of Income, VfB Is in Line With the League

All 18 Bundesliga clubs together earned 285.4 million euros from merchandise in 2024/25, just over 5% more than the 271.2 million euros of the season before. That was 5.57% of the league’s total revenue, down from 5.65% in 2023/24.

At VfB, merchandise was about 4.6% of revenue in 2023, 10 of 217.9 million euros. In 2024 it was about 5.7% of total income, 17 of 299.8 million euros. Total income in 2024 was about 38% above revenue in 2023. Merchandise grew by 70%.

Because the club reports by calendar year and the league by season, the comparison with the league is an approximation. At VfB itself the picture is clear. The shop grew faster than the club as a whole.

Borussia Dortmund’s group merchandise revenue was 40.0 million euros in 2024/25. VfB’s figure for the same season, more than 20 million euros according to the Stuttgarter Zeitung, was about half that.

VfB Renews Its Identity and Keeps the Crest

In September 2025 VfB presented a new brand identity, developed with Societas, a Munich design studio that works only in sport. The new elements are a “VfB 1893” wordmark, a custom typeface and a reworked version of the Stuttgart horse, the Rössle. The typeface, Concordia, is based on an old enamel sign from the former Hotel Concordia in Bad Cannstatt.

The crest, the white and red colours and the red chest ring stayed as they were. The club calls them the core of its identity. The new identity went on to win Best Rebranding at Football Business Inside’s Marketing Excellence Awards in Prague in May 2026.

The rebrand came after the revenue figures discussed here. Any effect on the club shop will only show in the next figures.

Clubs That Sell Directly Count Differently

Merchandise figures from different clubs do not always measure the same thing. VfB runs its online shop itself; under the shop’s terms the seller is VfB Stuttgart 1893 AG. VfB’s figures therefore include the full shop revenue. When a club licenses its merchandise to a partner, it books the licence income the partner pays, and the shop revenue appears in the partner’s accounts. Our article on how clubs sell their merchandise sets out the models, from a club’s own shop to licensing.

Dortmund reports two figures: 42.9 million euros in its merchandise subsidiary, 40.0 million euros for the group after internal sales are removed. The reporting periods differ too: VfB reports by calendar year, the Bundesliga and Dortmund by season, from July to June. Growth rates show the direction, not the exact gap.

Six Questions to Ask of the Next Merchandise Figure

1. Which period? A calendar year and a season overlap by only half.
2. Shop revenue or licence income? A club with its own shop reports shop revenue, a club with a licensing model its licence income, and the two cannot be compared directly.
3. Euros or units? Shirt counts show enthusiasm but say little about revenue as long as prices and discounts are unknown.
4. What share of income? Only the share shows whether merchandise grows faster than the club or with it.
5. What happened on the pitch? At VfB the cup win and the shirt record fell in the same season.
6. Brand value or sales? Brand Finance’s brand value rests on its own valuation model, and sales figures measure something else.

At Am Ball in Munich we develop licensed metal collectibles for clubs, federations and brands, and we manage production. That is why we read club figures closely. Our range runs from pins to the official replicas of the Bundesliga’s Meisterschale and the DFB-Pokal, for which we are the exclusive licensee. If you work with these numbers and would like to compare notes, write to eg@amball.com.

Read next: Premier League: Big Six Earn 70% of Commercial Income.

Sources and method

• Brand Finance, Football 50 2026 press release (20 August 2026): VfB’s brand value, 99% growth, fastest-growing brand in the top 50, reasons named including the first major trophy since 2007.
• VfB Stuttgart, Financial report at the 2024 general meeting (29 July 2024): revenue of 217.9 million euros in 2023.
• VfB Stuttgart, Record income and record profit (22 March 2025): total income and profit 2024, merchandise from 10 to 17 million euros, reasons for growth, 122,000 members.
• VfB Stuttgart, Erneut Rekordzahlen für den VfB (German, 26 July 2026): total income and profit 2025, 156,500 shirts, 135,000 members.
• Stuttgarter Zeitung, Neues Trikot bricht alle Rekorde (German, 15 July 2025): more than 20 million euros of merchandise sales in the season just ended, 70,000 and 150,000 shirts, 10,000 shirts within just over a week of launch. The paper names no source for these figures; they very likely come from the club.
• Bundesliga, Economic Report 2026, Bundesliga income statement: Bundesliga merchandise in 2023/24 and 2024/25 with its share of total revenue.
• Borussia Dortmund, Annual Report 2025/26, operating segments: merchandise in 2024/25 of 42,904 thousand euros in the segment and 40,033 thousand euros for the group.
• VfB Stuttgart, VfB Stuttgart sets its brand in motion (16 September 2025): new brand identity with Societas, wordmark, typeface, Rössle, unchanged symbols, Societas as a studio that works only in sport. Societas as a Munich studio: SoccerBible, VfB Stuttgart x Societas (September 2025).
• Football Business Inside, Marketing Excellence Awards 2026: The Winners (26 May 2026): VfB Stuttgart as winner of Best Rebranding.
• DFB, DFB-Pokal winners (German): the 2025 and 2026 finals (FC Bayern 3-0 VfB Stuttgart in 2026) and VfB’s earlier cup wins.
• VfB Stuttgart, Ticket to Europe (18 May 2026): fourth place in 2025/26 and direct qualification for the Champions League league phase.
• VfB Stuttgart, Jako stays kit supplier and becomes a shareholder (10 March 2022): contract until 30 June 2029, Jako as shareholder; online shop terms and conditions, clause 1: the seller is VfB Stuttgart 1893 AG.
• Our own calculations from reported figures: growth of VfB’s merchandise in 2024 (70%) and of Bundesliga merchandise in 2024/25 (5.2%); VfB’s total income for 2024 against its revenue for 2023 (about 38% more, 299.8 against 217.9 million euros); merchandise as a share of revenue in 2023 (about 4.6%) and of total income in 2024 (about 5.7%); VfB against Dortmund in 2024/25 (about half). For 2023 we found only the club’s English release, and it calls the figure “revenues”; for 2024 and 2025 the club reports total income (Gesamtertrag). The releases do not say whether both cover the same items. The club gives the 2024 profit without saying whether it is after tax. That the rise from 10 to 17 million euros refers to 2024 follows from the release on the 2024 accounts; the sentence itself names no year.

<nav class="article-breadcrumb"><a href="https://www.amball.com/magazine">Magazine</a><span class="article-breadcrumb__sep">/</span><span class="article-breadcrumb__current">VfB Stuttgart: Merchandise Passes 20 Million Euros</span></nav> <h1 class="article-h1">VfB Stuttgart: Merchandise Passes 20 Million Euros</h1> <p class="article-byline">Dominik Mittermaier · November 8, 2026</p> <img class="article-hero-image" src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/681b49bf353db74edf6708da/6af08755844120319383eba6_cover.jpg" alt="Row after row of empty red stadium seats." loading="eager"> <div class="article-intro"><p>Merchandise is the business of selling shirts, scarves and other fan products under a club's name. Even a few public figures, such as shop revenue and shirt sales, show how many people want to wear a brand and how fast that demand grows.</p></div> <h2 id="table-of-contents">In This Article</h2><ul id=""><li id=""><a href="#a-cup-win-and-the-champions-league-in-record-years">A Cup Win and the Champions League in Record Years</a></li><li id=""><a href="#the-club-shop-grows-70-in-a-year">The Club Shop Grows 70% in a Year</a></li><li id=""><a href="#as-a-share-of-income-vfb-is-in-line-with-the-league">As a Share of Income, VfB Is in Line With the League</a></li><li id=""><a href="#vfb-renews-its-identity-and-keeps-the-crest">VfB Renews Its Identity and Keeps the Crest</a></li><li id=""><a href="#clubs-that-sell-directly-count-differently">Clubs That Sell Directly Count Differently</a></li><li id=""><a href="#six-questions-to-ask-of-the-next-merchandise-figure">Six Questions to Ask of the Next Merchandise Figure</a></li><li id=""><a href="#sources-and-method">Sources and method</a></li></ul><p id="">In August 2026 the consultancy Brand Finance named VfB Stuttgart the fastest-growing brand among the world&rsquo;s 50 most valuable football brands. VfB&rsquo;s brand value rose by 99% to 183.5 million euros. Brand value is an estimate from a valuation model, not a sales figure.</p><p id="">The club&rsquo;s sales figures tell the same story. In the 2024/25 season, VfB&rsquo;s merchandise revenue passed 20 million euros for the first time, while Bundesliga merchandise revenue as a whole grew by just over 5%. More telling than the record is merchandise&rsquo;s share of the club&rsquo;s income. On that measure, VfB has caught up with the league average.</p><h2 id="a-cup-win-and-the-champions-league-in-record-years">A Cup Win and the Champions League in Record Years</h2><p id="">The figures cover strong years on the pitch. VfB played in the Champions League in 2024/25. In May 2025 it beat Arminia Bielefeld 4-2 to win the DFB-Pokal, the German cup, for the first time since 1997. In Brand Finance&rsquo;s words, it was the club&rsquo;s first major trophy since 2007. A year later it was back in the final, which FC Bayern won.</p><p id="">VfB finished fourth in the 2025/26 Bundesliga. That took it straight into the league phase of the 2026/27 Champions League.</p><p id="">The finances of VfB Stuttgart 1893 AG, the company that runs the professional team, have kept pace. The club reported revenue of 217.9 million euros for 2023, total income of 299.8 million euros for 2024 and total income of 383.6 million euros for 2025. Profit was 15.4 million euros in 2024 and 22.5 million euros after tax in 2025. According to the club, transfer income and the Champions League contributed significantly to the rise in income and profit in 2024.</p><p id="">The members&rsquo; club is growing too: about 122,000 members in March 2025, about 135,000 in July 2026.</p><h2 id="the-club-shop-grows-70-in-a-year">The Club Shop Grows 70% in a Year</h2><p id="">According to the club, merchandise revenue rose from 10 to 17 million euros in 2024. That is 70% in one year. For the 2024/25 season the Stuttgarter Zeitung then reported more than 20 million euros for the first time, a club record. One figure covers a calendar year, the other a season.</p><p id="">Shirt sales show the growth most clearly. VfB sold 70,000 shirts in 2023/24, a club record at the time. A year later it sold 150,000. The new shirt sold 10,000 within just over a week of its launch in July 2025.</p><p id="">The kit supplier is Jako, on a contract that runs until 30 June 2029. When the deal was extended in 2022, Jako also became a shareholder in VfB Stuttgart 1893 AG.</p><p id="">In July 2026 the club reported 156,500 shirts sold, more than ever before. The release does not say what period that covers, and the club has not yet published a euro figure for merchandise in 2025. Merchandise already passed 20 million euros in 2024/25 and shirt sales have risen again since, so the next figure is likely to be above 20 million euros too.</p><h2 id="as-a-share-of-income-vfb-is-in-line-with-the-league">As a Share of Income, VfB Is in Line With the League</h2><p id="">All 18 Bundesliga clubs together earned 285.4 million euros from merchandise in 2024/25, just over 5% more than the 271.2 million euros of the season before. That was 5.57% of the league&rsquo;s total revenue, down from 5.65% in 2023/24.</p><p id="">At VfB, merchandise was about 4.6% of revenue in 2023, 10 of 217.9 million euros. In 2024 it was about 5.7% of total income, 17 of 299.8 million euros. Total income in 2024 was about 38% above revenue in 2023. Merchandise grew by 70%.</p><p id="">Because the club reports by calendar year and the league by season, the comparison with the league is an approximation. At VfB itself the picture is clear. The shop grew faster than the club as a whole.</p><p id="">Borussia Dortmund&rsquo;s group merchandise revenue was 40.0 million euros in 2024/25. VfB&rsquo;s figure for the same season, more than 20 million euros according to the Stuttgarter Zeitung, was about half that.</p><h2 id="vfb-renews-its-identity-and-keeps-the-crest">VfB Renews Its Identity and Keeps the Crest</h2><p id="">In September 2025 VfB presented a new brand identity, developed with Societas, a Munich design studio that works only in sport. The new elements are a &ldquo;VfB 1893&rdquo; wordmark, a custom typeface and a reworked version of the Stuttgart horse, the Rössle. The typeface, Concordia, is based on an old enamel sign from the former Hotel Concordia in Bad Cannstatt.</p><p id="">The crest, the white and red colours and the red chest ring stayed as they were. The club calls them the core of its identity. The new identity went on to win Best Rebranding at Football Business Inside&rsquo;s Marketing Excellence Awards in Prague in May 2026.</p><p id="">The rebrand came after the revenue figures discussed here. Any effect on the club shop will only show in the next figures.</p><h2 id="clubs-that-sell-directly-count-differently">Clubs That Sell Directly Count Differently</h2><p id="">Merchandise figures from different clubs do not always measure the same thing. VfB runs its online shop itself; under the shop&rsquo;s terms the seller is VfB Stuttgart 1893 AG. VfB&rsquo;s figures therefore include the full shop revenue. When a club licenses its merchandise to a partner, it books the licence income the partner pays, and the shop revenue appears in the partner&rsquo;s accounts. Our article on <a href="https://www.amball.com/magazine/how-football-clubs-run-official-merchandise">how clubs sell their merchandise</a> sets out the models, from a club&rsquo;s own shop to licensing.</p><p id="">Dortmund reports two figures: 42.9 million euros in its merchandise subsidiary, 40.0 million euros for the group after internal sales are removed. The reporting periods differ too: VfB reports by calendar year, the Bundesliga and Dortmund by season, from July to June. Growth rates show the direction, not the exact gap.</p><h2 id="six-questions-to-ask-of-the-next-merchandise-figure">Six Questions to Ask of the Next Merchandise Figure</h2><ol id=""><li id="">Which period? A calendar year and a season overlap by only half.</li><li id="">Shop revenue or licence income? A club with its own shop reports shop revenue, a club with a licensing model its licence income, and the two cannot be compared directly.</li><li id="">Euros or units? Shirt counts show enthusiasm but say little about revenue as long as prices and discounts are unknown.</li><li id="">What share of income? Only the share shows whether merchandise grows faster than the club or with it.</li><li id="">What happened on the pitch? At VfB the cup win and the shirt record fell in the same season.</li><li id="">Brand value or sales? Brand Finance&rsquo;s brand value rests on its own valuation model, and sales figures measure something else.</li></ol><p id="">At Am Ball in Munich we develop licensed metal collectibles for clubs, federations and brands, and we manage production. That is why we read club figures closely. Our range runs from pins to the official replicas of the Bundesliga&rsquo;s Meisterschale and the DFB-Pokal, for which we are the exclusive licensee. If you work with these numbers and would like to compare notes, write to eg@amball.com.</p><p id="">Read next: <a href="https://www.amball.com/magazine/english-football-finances-2025-26">Premier League: Big Six Earn 70% of Commercial Income</a>.</p><h2 id="sources-and-method">Sources and method</h2><ul id=""><li id="">Brand Finance, <a href="https://brandfinance.com/press-releases/footballs-elite-pull-further-ahead-as-global-brand-value-nears-e24-billion-and-european-hierarchy-shifts">Football 50 2026 press release</a> (20 August 2026): VfB&rsquo;s brand value, 99% growth, fastest-growing brand in the top 50, reasons named including the first major trophy since 2007.</li><li id="">VfB Stuttgart, <a href="https://www.vfb.de/en/vfb/latest/news/club/2024/finanzbericht-ag-mgv-2024-/">Financial report at the 2024 general meeting</a> (29 July 2024): revenue of 217.9 million euros in 2023.</li><li id="">VfB Stuttgart, <a href="https://www.vfb.de/en/vfb/latest/news/club/2025/vfb-mit-rekordertrag-und-rekordgewinn/">Record income and record profit</a> (22 March 2025): total income and profit 2024, merchandise from 10 to 17 million euros, reasons for growth, 122,000 members.</li><li id="">VfB Stuttgart, <a href="https://www.vfb.de/de/vfb/aktuell/neues/club/2026/erneut-rekordzahlen-fuer-den-vfb/">Erneut Rekordzahlen für den VfB</a> (German, 26 July 2026): total income and profit 2025, 156,500 shirts, 135,000 members.</li><li id="">Stuttgarter Zeitung, <a href="https://www.stuttgarter-zeitung.de/sport/vfb-stuttgart/vfb-stuttgart-merchandise-neues-trikot-bricht-alle-rekorde-78992190.html">Neues Trikot bricht alle Rekorde</a> (German, 15 July 2025): more than 20 million euros of merchandise sales in the season just ended, 70,000 and 150,000 shirts, 10,000 shirts within just over a week of launch. The paper names no source for these figures; they very likely come from the club.</li><li id="">Bundesliga, <a href="https://report.bundesliga.de/2526/en/economic-report/economic-figures/bundesliga/income-statement.html">Economic Report 2026, Bundesliga income statement</a>: Bundesliga merchandise in 2023/24 and 2024/25 with its share of total revenue.</li><li id="">Borussia Dortmund, <a href="https://report.bvb.de/annual-report/2025-2026/consolidated-financial-statements/notes-to-the-consolidated-financial-statements/basic-principles/operating-segments.html">Annual Report 2025/26, operating segments</a>: merchandise in 2024/25 of 42,904 thousand euros in the segment and 40,033 thousand euros for the group.</li><li id="">VfB Stuttgart, <a href="https://www.vfb.de/en/vfb/latest/news/club/2025/der-vfb-stuttgart-setzt-seine-marke-in-bewegung-/">VfB Stuttgart sets its brand in motion</a> (16 September 2025): new brand identity with Societas, wordmark, typeface, Rössle, unchanged symbols, Societas as a studio that works only in sport. Societas as a Munich studio: <a href="https://www.soccerbible.com/design/miscellaneous/2025/09/vfb-stuttgart-x-societas-a-movement-reimagined/">SoccerBible, VfB Stuttgart x Societas</a> (September 2025).</li><li id="">Football Business Inside, <a href="https://www.footballbusinessinside.com/fbin-marketing-excellence-awards-2026-the-winners/">Marketing Excellence Awards 2026: The Winners</a> (26 May 2026): VfB Stuttgart as winner of Best Rebranding.</li><li id="">DFB, <a href="https://www.dfb.de/maenner/wettbewerbe/dfb-pokal/statistik/bisherige-sieger">DFB-Pokal winners</a> (German): the 2025 and 2026 finals (FC Bayern 3-0 VfB Stuttgart in 2026) and VfB&rsquo;s earlier cup wins.</li><li id="">VfB Stuttgart, <a href="https://www.vfb.de/en/vfb/latest/news/professionals/2526/ticket-nach-europa/">Ticket to Europe</a> (18 May 2026): fourth place in 2025/26 and direct qualification for the Champions League league phase.</li><li id="">VfB Stuttgart, <a href="https://www.vfb.de/en/vfb/latest/news/club/2022/jako-bleibt-ausruester-----und-steigt-beim-vfb-ein/">Jako stays kit supplier and becomes a shareholder</a> (10 March 2022): contract until 30 June 2029, Jako as shareholder; <a href="https://shop.vfb.de/en/footer/agb">online shop terms and conditions</a>, clause 1: the seller is VfB Stuttgart 1893 AG.</li><li id="">Our own calculations from reported figures: growth of VfB&rsquo;s merchandise in 2024 (70%) and of Bundesliga merchandise in 2024/25 (5.2%); VfB&rsquo;s total income for 2024 against its revenue for 2023 (about 38% more, 299.8 against 217.9 million euros); merchandise as a share of revenue in 2023 (about 4.6%) and of total income in 2024 (about 5.7%); VfB against Dortmund in 2024/25 (about half). For 2023 we found only the club&rsquo;s English release, and it calls the figure &ldquo;revenues&rdquo;; for 2024 and 2025 the club reports total income (Gesamtertrag). The releases do not say whether both cover the same items. The club gives the 2024 profit without saying whether it is after tax. That the rise from 10 to 17 million euros refers to 2024 follows from the release on the 2024 accounts; the sentence itself names no year.</li></ul> <div class="continue-reading"><span class="continue-reading__label">Continue reading</span><a class="continue-reading__link" href="https://www.amball.com/magazine/english-football-finances-2025-26">Premier League: Big Six Earn 70% of Commercial Income</a></div>