Fanatics acquires Italian sports retailer
Fanatics continues to strengthen its presence in Europe — and European football (soccer in the United States).
The global sports licensing and online merchandise retailer has acquired Epi, a leading Italian sports merchandise company that operates the official online and retail stores of several top Italian football clubs, including AC Milan, Atalanta, Bologna, Fiorentina, Inter Milan, the Italian Football Federation FIGC and more.
Fanatics plans to rebrand EPI, which is based in Milan, as Fanatics Italy.
“We’re excited to join Fanatics, a global company with the experience of serving millions of sports fans from some of the biggest sports clubs and organizations in the world,” said EPI CEO Lorenzo Forte, who will serve as CEO of Fanatics Italy. “Fanatics is one of the fastest growing and most exciting companies in sport and we are ready to tap into its increasingly global presence and bring a more extensive digital sports experience to global fans, both here in Italy and across the world.”
In recent years, Fanatics has been expanding in international markets. The company has partnerships with leading sports clubs and organizations across the world, including Formula 1, International Olympic Committee, NFL, NBA, UEFA, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United, Chelsea, England Rugby, Tokyo Giants, The FA and the AFL.
“I am thrilled to welcome Lorenzo and the EPI team to Fanatics - we share an entrepreneurial mindset, a passion for delighting sports fans and a love for innovating for sports teams and leagues, which makes for an exciting future together,” said Doug Mack, Fanatics Commerce CEO and Fanatics Vice Chairman. “By combining EPI’s local expertise and relationships in Italy with Fanatic’s leading-edge capabilities and global reach – we are excited to accelerate business for EPI’s current partners while further advancing our unrivaled offering for new global partners ahead.”
In December, Fanatics raised $700 million in new capital, valuing the company at $31 billion. It made several acquisitions last year, including the $500 million purchase of the sports and entertainment divisions of Topps. The deal included Topps’ name and all parts of its worldwide trading cards and collectibles business — both the physical and digital divisions.