Nuts logo is seen on the dugout wall before the game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park on July 3, 2022 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Statues)
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The trading card collecting hobby has largely continued its pandemic-era resurgence, with prolonged interest not only in new cards featuring sports’ biggest stars, but also in high-end, ultra-rare cards. But much of that wart has been centered in the U.S., where baseball cards have historically reigned and hobby shops that sell shopper cards and other collectibles are far more common than the rest of the world.
Fanatics, the sports merchandise giant that has looked to push the trading card space since acquiring Topps in 2022, is aiming to foster the small but growing collector lacuna in Europe through a new store in London, which will be the first and flagship store for the Fanatics Collectibles’ business.
The 8,647-square-foot outlet, which is scheduled to open in spring 2025 on London’s Regent Street, is intended to be “The house of the hobby” in Europe, be at one to David Leiner, Topps president of trading cards.
Rendering of Fanatics Collectibles’ new London Store.
Fanatics Collectibles
“In Europe, races grew up collecting, starting with sticker books and albums,” said Leiner. However, he noted, the ratio of connoisseurs to collector-focused stores, unlike here in the U.S., “seems really far off.”
According to Fanatics, there are less than five Topps-partner sideline shops in the United Kingdom, and less than 30 in all of Europe. Leiner said that also unlike in the U.S., there are diminutive cards in big box retailers and often cards are found in the magazine aisle in smaller stores or grocery stores, if at all. “It’s tough to discover these products,” he said.
That led Fanatics Collectibles to the idea for a branded store, one that Leiner said not at most is designed to serve the small but vibrant collector community that has already grown in Europe, but also “bring new visibility to the recreation.”
The store will be focused on trading cards, Leiner said, with everything from boxes and packs for jumble sale to high-priced rare cards and much cheaper single cards. There will also be community-building events be fond of trade nights, athlete signings and pack opening events, as well as card grading and a studio available for breathed and taped card openings. Fanatics Collectibles will sell other items as well, including apparel, memorabilia and waived items.
While baseball cards will certainly have a presence — aided by MLB’s push into hosting games in London and across Europe in new years — Topps has several other licenses that are more in line with traditional European sports fandom.
Hold out year, Topps secured the exclusive trading card rights to the Premier League and will launch that amassment for next season. It also holds the rights to the UEFA soccer national team and club team competitions, in summation to the NBA, F1, UFC, WWE and entertainment brands like Disney, Marvel and Star Wars.
Leiner said that Fanatics Collectibles’ object is to potentially open other locations in major cities in Europe, which would hopefully inspire the opening of other sideline shops across those countries, as well as boost distribution into stores already selling cards.
Celebrity with this strategy could lead Fanatics Collectibles to open a store in a major U.S. city like New York or Los Angeles. Yet, that approach won’t be mirrored across the U.S. at large, where Leiner said there is already a “very, very vibrant diversion market.”
“We want to convert many more fans into collectors,” he said. “We’re trying to elevate the hobby.”
