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MLB Marketing Sox-Yankees Rivalry

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MLB Marketing Sox-Yankees Rivalry
There's an interesting article over at the Boston Globe talking about how MLB is now trying its hand at marketing team rivalries, rather than the individual Japanese players.

I wish them luck, but it's going to be a tough sell. As the article says:
But Major League Baseball still has a long way to go in getting Japanese fans to take sides in the Bronx-vs.-Boston rumble. At a baseball festival MLB sponsored earlier this month, Makoto Miyauchi, dressed in a Yankees sweatshirt and cap, walked with his friend, Michiko Kunugi, who donned another of Miyauchi's baseball outfits -- a Red Sox team jersey, pants, and team hat.

When he visits the United States this spring, Miyauchi, 45, said that he plans to attend two Yankees games and a Red Sox game, and he'll bring jerseys for both teams. He sees no problem with rooting for each of the rivals.
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Re: MLB Marketing Sox-Yankees Rivalry
[ Author: Christopher | Posted: Apr 16, 2007 11:13 AM | HAN Fan ]

That was an interesting article. Have you seen any increase in RedSox branded items in your neck of the woods? There doesn't seem to be anything happening in Tokyo apart from the usual Yankees stuff.
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Re: MLB Marketing Sox-Yankees Rivalry
[ Author: mijow | Posted: Apr 16, 2007 8:32 PM | HT Fan ]

Yeah, I noticed a couple of the larger stores such as Sports Depo are promoting Red Sox merchandise.
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Re: MLB Marketing Sox-Yankees Rivalry
[ Author: Christopher | Posted: Apr 17, 2007 8:43 AM | HAN Fan ]

Do you have any MLB shops yet? We have two - one in Tokyo Dome and one in Shibuya (downtown Tokyo). These still seem to be selling mainly Yankees stuff - maybe as Matsuzaka becomes more successful this will shift.
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Re: MLB Marketing Sox-Yankees Rivalry
[ Author: mijow | Posted: Apr 17, 2007 10:07 PM | HT Fan ]

Well, the new store in Osaka Dome (sorry, Kyocera Dome Osaka) has a MLB corner, which is well stocked with merchandise from every team, but it does appear to be deserted most of the time. The Sports Depo I'm familiar with has a MLB section as well. The Buffaloes store in Kobe also has a couple of items, but the focus tends to be on Ichiro and Taguchi. Don't know about MLB shops as such, though. Do the ones in Tokyo make any money, do you know?
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Re: MLB Marketing Sox-Yankees Rivalry
[ Author: Deanna | Posted: Apr 18, 2007 4:28 AM | NIP Fan ]

The one in the Tokyo Dome's been around for a long time, hasn't it? I remember it being there several years ago, at least -- mostly because I was amused that I could buy a Kazuhiro Sasaki number T-shirt for $5 in Seattle at the time, and it was going for 4,500 yen at the Tokyo Dome MLB shop.

Though I was under the impression it wasn't actually run by MLB, just an importer of MLB goods. Has that changed? Given the markup on everything, I can't imagine they're not making money, though.
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Re: MLB Marketing Sox-Yankees Rivalry
[ Author: Christopher | Posted: Apr 18, 2007 10:28 AM | HAN Fan ]

I have never seen anyone in the Tokyo Dome shop on game days, but maybe it has customers on other days. I don't imagine it being very profitable though. The Shibuya shop is brand new so hasn't had enough time to establish itself. The opening wasn't well attended though.
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