The Duke University Store served throngs of fans Tuesday anxious to buy championship gear the day after the title game.
Students, faculty and Durham residents poured into the Duke Store in the Bryan Center early Tuesday morning looking to buy championship shirts, hats and other apparel. The crowds remained large all day Tuesday—with an an estimated 8,000 to 12,000 shirts sold within 24 hours of the men's basketball team's win over Wisconsin.
“The Bryan Center was as hectic as a regular store on Black Friday,” freshman Noor Tasnim said.
Chester Penn, an employee at the Duke Store, said the store experienced the heaviest traffic between noon and 2 p.m. He noted that one of the most sold items was the locker room jersey.
"People want what the players have," he said. "They want to feel as close as they can to being part of the team."
He noted that one student told him she had skipped class to purchase a shirt from the store.
Many students said they were purchasing championship gear for relatives living in other locations.
"As soon as the buzzer when off, my brother texted me to buy him a shirt," Rebecca Benjamin, a first year nursing student, said. "He said to buy anything I could find."
Melissa Moreno, Trinity '13, said after the win her family told her to buy them all shirts from the Duke Store as soon as possible.
Store managers were ready to accommodate the influx of T-shirt demand in the wake of the win. Jim Wilkerson, director of trademark licensing and store operations for Duke Stores, said the store received approximately 8,000 shirts before it opened, with about 20,000 arriving by late afternoon. He said they expected to sell anywhere from 8,000 to 12,000 shirts the day after the game.
University Store employee Shawnette Richardson said that at times she could not even turn around because of the crowd. Richardson and several others have been hired temporarily for the next 30 days to accommodate the increase in expected customers due to the win.
Wilkerson said preparations for championship gear designs began six weeks before the Final Four, with more serious planning starting three weeks ago.
“Nothing is printed until the buzzer sounds at the final game,” Wilkerson said.
He explained this has proven to be ideal because if the game had not worked in Duke's favor, there would not be a lot of wasted merchandise.
Wilkerson has been working at Duke Stores for 34 years and has experienced each of the men's basketball team's five national championships. He added that several of the store’s key senior managers have also been at Duke for all five championships, and all enjoy the excitement the championship games bring.
“Thanks to Coach K and his great teams, in Duke Stores we have some good retail experience in preparing for national basketball championships,” Wilkerson said. “Coach K came to Duke one year before I did, and I certainly hope he doesn’t leave until at least a year after I do. It has been and continues to be quite a ride.”
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