Kroenke Sports Enterprises makes millions each year by selling Denver Nuggets merchandise, but on Friday, it will lay the groundwork to make even more.
Carmelo Anthony and the rest of the Nuggets will meet the Los Angeles Clippers at the Pepsi Center wearing navy blue jerseys.
The team already wears white for home games and baby blue on the road, but the third jersey – navy blue with gold trim and baby blue down the sides – will be thrown into the mix throughout the season.
While Anthony may look more intimidating in the darker duds, the third jersey is primarily a marketing move aimed at increasing sales, experts said.
“When you reach a certain point in sales and you want to nudge the needle up a little more, one of the ways to do that is to add a new product for consumers to buy,” said Neil Schwartz, director of marketing for SportsScanInfo, a West Palm Beach, Fla.-based sports industry research firm.
The 30 National Basketball Association teams split revenue evenly from all merchandise sold at retail stores such as Dillard’s or Nordstrom. But Kroenke Sports Enterprises, which owns the Nuggets, can make millions more through sales from its own retail outlets, said Marc Ganis of SportsCorp Ltd., a Chicago-based sports business consulting firm.
Kroenke has an outlet at the Pepsi Center and will add its first Internet retail venture, AltitudeAuthentics.com, to coincide with the jersey launch. The site will sell gear from Kroenke’s stable of sports franchises, which include the Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche and Colorado Rapids.
Prices range from $44 for a replica to $160 for an authentic basketball jersey.
The Nuggets rank No. 2 in the NBA in merchandise sales, according to SportsScanInfo, which records sales from retailers nationwide.
Nineteen of the 30 NBA teams have a third jersey, said league spokeswoman Kristin Conte. All but five have their own Internet retail site.
“Teams usually launch a third jersey when they feel good about the direction they’re going as a franchise,” said Paul Andrews, executive vice president for Kroenke Sports Enterprises.
The Nuggets will wear the new jersey up to five times on the road and two times at home this season, Andrews said.
The team also is unveiling a new secondary logo, which features crossing pickaxes, a mountain peak and a basketball.
“It’s probably the best mark in their history for illustrating their name,” said Daniel Price, president of Denver-based sports marketing and consulting firm Adrenalin. “It has elements from past logos, including Maxi the Miner.”
Maxi Miner was the Nuggets’ primary logo from the 1974-75 season through the 1981-82 season.
Staff writer Andy Vuong can be reached at 303-820-1209 or avuong@denverpost.com.
