Sensational news regarding Lionel Messi’s transfer to Inter Miami has sent shockwaves through the planet’s biggest sport. The move could further galvanise Major League Soccer (MLS) in the U.S., pundits are predicting. Fans of Messi on every continent are clamouring to buy shiny new Inter Miami shirts, proudly emblazoned with their idol’s name and number. And for manufacturers of shirts and the heat transfers that adorn them, unprecedented demand has properly kicked off.
At Avery Dennison, we ‘re excited to welcome the great Messi to MLS. As the exclusive supplier of names, numbers, and sleeve badges to the league, we look forward to seeing his name on Inter Miami jerseys all over the world. Embelex is Avery Dennison’s end-to-end platform for on-garment graphics that bring official team sports merchandise to life. We supply embellishments to the UK Premier League, Spain’s LaLiga, Real Madrid, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Cleveland Cavaliers – to name just a few examples of where our heat transfers appear.
Shirts are a very big deal
Replica football shirts are serious business. Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain jerseys sold out in just 30 minutes of being revealed on the club’s online store in 2021. Meanwhile, when Ronaldo returned to Manchester United in the same year, replica shirt sales reportedly earned the club an eye-watering £187 million.
When a major transfer is announced, we optimise production to provide customised heat transfers to the market in the fastest possible time, supporting the team and league in quickly earning back on the investment they are making in great players.
Our machines were running red hot as soon as Messi’s transfer was announced. Speed is the name of the game, which includes not just production but delivery. Avery Dennison is breaking new ground by enabling localised supply of customised shirts around the world, at very short notice. And this is all down to digitalisation of our manufacturing processes.
What will demand for Messi shirts be like?
We’ve done our homework. We anticipate high demand and are prepared to meet demand. Our production facilities are set up to supply Embelex heat transfers in the shortest possible time, close to the consumer. In Miamisburg, Ohio, Avery Dennison’s state-of-the-art Embelex facility will be staffing the production lines to ensure the best transfer gets the best transfer, so to speak!
This location was deliberately set up three years ago to provide a fast-turn production site ideal for supplying the NA sports industry. The facility is high-tech, with digital manufacturing processes from end-to-end. We can take an order digitally, first thing in the morning, and be able to ship printed shirts by the end of the day.
End-to-end production
This is vitally important for big clubs who know their profitability relies on rocketing shirt sales. And while the traditional model for shirt embellishment involved several independent suppliers handling goods – transfer producers, applicators, finishers, and logistics providers – we have pulled all elements in house therefore eliminating time-consuming stages.
Having a full-service platform means we can cover everything a team requires and we do that across the globe. Avery Dennison sites worldwide can meet the demands of those teams that have a global fanbase. This means Embelex heat transfers can be applied to shirts in Ohio in the USA, and to the same standard in Europe.
Once this contract is signed, it will be fascinating to see how the Inter Miami fan base responds to Messi’s arrival, and to witness ‘La Pulga’s’ impact on soccer in the USA. When it comes to those all-important shirts, the Inter Miami slogan sums up our position – We are one, we are fearless, we are ready!
