Michael Rubin, executive chairman of online sportswear giant Fanatics, told CNBC on Wednesday that retail sales have been negatively impacted by shipping issues during the holiday season.
“There is so much pressure on the different shipping networks to deliver, I think there was even more demand than could have been,” Rubin said of “Squawk Box.” “As good as things are, it could have been even better.”
Total ecommerce sales are up as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, up 22% to $ 9 billion on Black Friday alone, according to Adobe Analytics. But this growth comes at a price, putting warehouses and logistics networks under pressure. For example, on Cyber Monday, UPS allegedly told its drivers to stop picking up packages from some major retailers after those companies reached the capacity allocations it set.
Complicating the situation is the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine, which began this month after the Food and Drug Administration approved emergency approvals for Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, triggering the distribution of millions of additional doses in the U.S. put.
Rubin, a partner in the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, said he thought the pandemic has accelerated e-commerce adoption by two or three years overall.
“I think e-commerce will see 30% more [growth] across the board. We had a great year, “said Rubin, whose Fanatics was valued at $ 6.2 billion in a Series E funding round in August.” But again, the most interesting thing was that demand could have been even better if the shipping networks just had more capacity. . But with corona, the delivery of vaccines for the first time, there is so much pressure on shipping networks this year. “
Earlier this week, Fanatics announced that it has partnered with Barnes & Noble Education to run e-commerce business for sporting goods sold in the campus bookstores. The partnership also includes Lids, with the companies investing $ 15 million in equity in Barnes & Noble Education.
“I think the company is a little underexposed, so from my perspective we looked at this and said, ‘We really think we can work together to strengthen this offering,’” said Rubin of Barnes & Noble Education. “We’re going to use all of Fanatics’ e-commerce capabilities and place them behind the 775 universities to help them have the very best offering: better technology, better mobile, broader range.”
Shares of Barnes & Noble Education were up 1.7% Wednesday. The partnership with Fanatics was announced ahead of Monday’s opening and the stock is up about 12% this week.