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Stiles now a star on T-shirts
By Paul Flemming of the News-Leader, 5/16/01 Another day, another record. The Women’s National Basketball Association has its largest-ever single-product, single-player retail deal after Springfield-area Wal-Mart stores ordered 10,000 T-shirts bearing Jackie Stiles’ name, jersey number and team logo. John Ruder, manager of the Wal-Mart Supercenter at 3335 W. Sunshine St., launched the idea and followed through to develop the licensed apparel. “I’d watched Jackie Stiles for a long time. Like any retailer, I wondered how can we benefit from this opportunity and what can we do to provide what our customers want?” Ruder said. The shirts were not in stores Tuesday, but Ruder expected them to arrive any time. They were shipped Thursday. “The sooner, the better,” said Rick Risenhoover, manager at the 2021 E. Independence St. Wal-Mart “I think it’ll be a hot item with the publicity she’s gotten.” The shirts will be available at five Springfield Wal-Marts and the company’s store in Nixa. They are not being distributed nationally. Stiles, former Southwest Missouri State Lady Bears star, is already drawing attention in the WNBA. The rookie professional was drafted in April to play for the league’s Portland Fire. Stiles is the NCAA women’s career leading scorer with 3,393 points during her time as a Lady Bear. As a high school player in Kansas, she set that state’s career scoring mark. With the 10,000-shirt order from Wal-Mart she becomes the WNBA’s product champ. “The difference with this one is it is significantly larger than anything we’d had before for a single product for a single player,” said Traci Cook, senior director of strategic and corporate communications for the WNBA. Three times larger, in fact. Cook said Stiles is one of several high-profile members of this year’s emerging professionals including Ruth Riley and Tamika Catchings. “... The WNBA draft class has, as a whole, generated the most inquiries received from retailers since the league’s inception,” according to a release from the 5-year-old league. “We were following Jackie” during her college career, the WNBA’s Cook said. “We’re just glad to have her in the league.” The shirts are made by National Basketball Association Products International, the in-house manufacturer for the league. Ruder said the shirts would sell from $9.96 and $11.86 each, from children’s sizes to adult shirts. TO THE TOP |