“There was always an open run, but this year the line was especially long,” said FC Seoul fan Kim Sung-yup (25), recalling the day he ‘scored’ the new 2024 season jersey. Ahead of the second round of the Hana Bank K League 1 2024 between Seoul and Incheon at Seoul World Cup Stadium on March 10, there was a long line at the Lingard Zone (where Jesse Lingard jerseys are sold) to purchase a Lingard jersey. Some fans rushed to the stadium from the early morning hours. This is a common sight in idol culture, but rarely seen in the K League. The stadium was packed with 51,670 spectators, and Kim Dong-jin, 29, a Seoul fan, said, 카지노사이트 “It was nice to feel like a national team and a haejuk (overseas soccer) in the home opener.”
FC Seoul jerseys are selling like hotcakes this year, as the club celebrates its 20th anniversary. Lee Jae-ho, head of FC Seoul’s business development team, said, “The jerseys were sold out on the first day, February 22, when we started selling them. We cannot disclose the specific number of jerseys sold, but it is more than 60-70% of last year’s total sales. This is the largest number of jerseys we’ve ever sold.” The club recognizes that the number of first-time buyers of Seoul jerseys has increased significantly. “The number of jerseys is decided months before the sale. After Lingard’s arrival, we placed an additional order. We expect to receive a large number of jerseys in late March or early April,” he said. The jerseys are priced at 99,000 won, or 167,000 won for a full jersey. The jerseys are available in red home jerseys, white away jerseys, and goalkeeper jerseys.
The surge in jersey sales is due to the signing of Lingard, who is arguably the best name value in the 41-year history of the K League. Seoul signed Lingard, a former England international who played for Man United and England, ahead of the start of the season. “Lingard jerseys account for about half of our sales,” Lee said. At the last two home games, it was easy to spot fans wearing jerseys with Lingard’s No. 10 on the back. “I realized the popularity of Lingard when I heard that the first round of sales sold out in a short period of time,” said Ryu Ji-hyun, 25, a fan from Seoul.
The club made the Lingard jerseys available for purchase online and offline, as well as at convenience stores. For a week from March 7th to 13th, the jerseys were available for purchase on the GS25 convenience store app ‘Our Neighbor GS’. It is considered an example of maximizing synergy by using affiliates of the parent company GS Group. GS Group launched the open innovation community “52g” (5pen 2nnovation GS) to quickly respond to changes in 2022. Employees from each affiliate voluntarily participate and share ideas. To strengthen customer CS and develop competency in fan data, employees of the Seoul club have also joined the ’52g’ crew to redefine the club’s project tasks from the customer’s perspective.
On home game days, a Lingard Zone is set up outside the stadium to sell Lingard jerseys. While this may be seen as marketing that is biased toward Lingard, it is also a consideration for fans who support other Seoul players. “I think it’s a good idea to reduce congestion at offline stores on game days and increase sales,” says Ryu Ji-hyun. “The Lingard Zone is also for people who don’t buy Lingard jerseys,” said Shim Joo-an, 30, a Seoul fan. If we hadn’t set up the Lingard Zone, it would have taken more time to mark the jerseys of other players.” The club plans to keep the lingard zone for the time being.
Seoul, a longtime leader in K League marketing, made waves in 2022 with the launch of its own beer and popcorn, Seoul 1983. Efforts to reach out to the public beyond the soccer field have continued this year. Starting in April, Seoul plans to sell apparel, mugs, and other merchandise featuring Lingard. It’s a commitment to paddling when the water comes in. “It would be great to see FC Seoul fashion items released under Lingard’s clothing brand,” said Ryu Ji-hyun.