Shaq's arrival likely to bring big business

Mesa resident Jolene Platero said she is anxiously waiting for the Shaquille O'Neal jerseys to become available at sporting goods stores so she can buy one.

"Shaq is awesome," Platero said as she visited the Just Sports store Thursday at Fiesta Mall. "We've been following him forever. He's so gigantic."

The signing of Shaq by the Phoenix Suns figures to set off a cascade of business at stores selling Suns apparel across the Valley.

The first jerseys and T-shirts with Shaq's name and number were already on the shelves Thursday at the team shop at US Airways Arena in downtown Phoenix, and nine Shaq products were available at the Shopsuns.com Web site for shipping on Feb. 19. Nonteam-owned sporting goods stores are expected to begin receiving stocks of Shaq jerseys and T-shirts shortly.

Charles Doyle, manager of the Just Sports store at Fiesta Mall, said an unusual number of customers inquired Thursday about when the Shaq gear will come in, and the fans seemed to approve of the deal sending Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to the Miami Heat for O'Neal.

"For the most part, they've seen what Shaq can do. We've seen a lot of people embracing it," he said.

Although the signing of O'Neal figures to increase jersey sales, it's not going to be a marketing bonanza for the team, said Suns President Rick Welts. The primary reason for acquiring O'Neal was to win a championship, not to gain sales advantages, he said, adding Suns games are already sold out and fan interest in the team is already high.

"Unlike when Shaq moved to other teams and there was a push on the marketing side to capture more revenue from ticket sales, Shaq is not here to sell tickets. He's here to win a championship."

Welts added sales of jerseys and other team memorabilia add little additional revenue to the team because much of the profits must be shared with the other NBA teams.

Still, he conceded there are some marketing advantages to having Shaq on board. The cable TV ratings of the Wednesday night Suns-Hornets game, when Shaq was introduced to the fans, were the highest of the season, he said.

And the percentage of hits on the Shopsuns.com Web site from outside Arizona have soared to 70 percent from the normal 58 percent before the trade, he said.

"A large number of people from outside Arizona are buying Shaq products," he said.

"Obviously, there's a great deal of interest in this nationally."