NFL Opens E-Commerce Shop in Chinese Market

NEW YORK, Oct. 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Football League has utilized a unique e-commerce strategy to open its first official online store in China. The new site is www.nflchinashop.com.   America's most popular sports league collaborated with Export Now (www.exportnow.com) to establish operations, with the store initiating sales in October.

Similar to its current U.S. e-commerce store, NFLShop.com, the online store in China sells official apparel, equipment and accessories branded from the NFL and its 32 teams over an e-commerce platform on China's Tmall.com (http://www.tmall.com/) business-to-consumer platform. The new online store's debut will allow Chinese football fans to further participate in the 2013 NFL season.

Export Now sells U.S. consumer products on Tmall.com, China's leading e-commerce platform with over 500 million registered customers.

"This NFL season has been incredibly exciting, and we are pleased to enhance the experience for our Chinese fans by opening this new site," said Richard Young, Managing Director of NFL China. "We are seeing strong growth in the popularity of the NFL in China and working with Export Now has allowed us to expand in the world's largest consumer market."

Export Now founder and Chief Executive Officer Frank Lavin said his company's e-commerce business model accelerated the NFL store's development and allowed it to open during the 2013 season.

"It is gratifying to be able to make the NFL's range of products available to Chinese fans this season," Lavin said. "We are collaborating with one of the truly great sports organizations in the world, utilizing a cutting-edge e-commerce model that is allowing a growing number of brands to access the Chinese market."

About Export Now
Export Now helps U.S. consumer product companies sell online in China by removing  the barriers to exporting and marketing –  regulations, logistics, financial settlement  – and operating a Chinese language e-commerce store to sell the products directly to Chinese consumers. Export Now distributes products through stores on Chinese e-commerce sites Tmall.com and Taobao.com. The company currently supports 110 brands from the United States and around the world. For more information or to sign up, visit www.exportnow.com,

About NFL
The National Football League is America's most popular sports league, comprised of 32 franchises that compete each year to win the Super Bowl, the world's biggest annual sporting event. Founded in 1920, the NFL developed the model for the successful modern sports league, including extensive revenue sharing, competitive excellence, strong franchises across the board, and national distribution. The NFL is the industry leader on a wide range of fronts. Business Week magazine calls the NFL "one of America's best-run businesses."

About NFL China
NFL China was established in Beijing in October 2007, demonstrating the NFL's long-term commitment to China and signifying a significant milestone in the NFL's continuing effort to promote its game worldwide.  In China, the NFL aims to develop and grow its fan base, increasing fan avidity and passion for the game through strategic cooperation with national and regional media partners.  Marketing efforts are focused on flag football development and fan outreach events as well as a very strong social media presence.  The NFL has over 3 million avid fans in China.

NFL China partners with over 25 regional TV broadcasters and digital media outlets across China to air weekly games, highlights and other NFL content.  Additionally, NFL China focuses on grassroots development of football through the University Flag Football League, with teams competing from 36 universities across Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou and over 1,000 participating players.  Starting in 2013, the NFL will establish "NFL Home Field" in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou which will bring together all elements that fans appreciate about the League in the U.S., for a full day of football and community fun: live football games, interactive games, football training clinics, food, drinks as well as NFL star player and cheerleader appearances.

SOURCE Export Now