Devin Hester's 23 Bears jersey quickly becomes a must-have gift
Between 500 and 600 shoppers a day call Dick's Sporting Goods store in Schaumburg in search of a jersey sporting the hottest Chicago athlete -- Devin Hester.
The sporting goods store received a shipment Tuesday of about 200 of the player's shirts. They were all sold by Wednesday.
"Hester is the hot commodity in Chicago right now," said Oscar Rivera, manager at the Schaumburg sports store.
Sales of the Hester jersey are up an unbelievable 247 percent over a year ago, said Eddie White, a spokesman for Reebok, the company that makes the jerseys.
"We're having a hard time keeping Hester's stuff on the shelf," agreed Ray Laning, owner of Sports Fanatic with locations in Palatine and West Dundee's Spring Hill Mall.
While many of the large sporting goods stores say they may not receive any more of the jerseys before Christmas, Laning continues to get boxes of the coveted apparel. "I ordered like crazy," he said, adding that he has shipments scheduled for arrival through the end of the month.
Reebok, the official supplier of the NFL, is making the jerseys as quickly as they receive orders from retailers, White said.
Hester's short but spectacular career as a kick returner, cornerback, and now wide receiver, is having an impact on young football fans.
"Devin rocks. He's cool," said third-grader Kyle McGee. The Hawthorn Woods boy is asking for the jersey for Christmas. "He's probably the fastest player in the NFL," said McGee, who enjoys playing and watching sports.
Arlington Heights mom Kristine Schultz was searching franticly last week for a Hester jersey for her 11-year-old son, Eric. Her son told her that 23 is the "magic Chicago number," first with Michael Jordan and now the Bears' star.
Schultz, like many parents, can't understand why there aren't enough of the shirts out there to meet the demand. "It's crazy," said Schultz, who searched at Sears, Sports Authority and Dick's Sporting Goods.
Keeping up with demand can be tricky, said Larry Weindruch, director of Communications for the National Sporting Goods Association in Mount Prospect.
The retailer walks a fine line. If a player is traded or negative news comes out about him, the retailer doesn't want to be stuck with excess inventory.
"I can't imagine that the popularity of Hester took anyone by surprise. Maybe no one anticipated just how hot he would be though," Weindruch said.
There are different levels of jerseys out there. Stores including Target, J.C. Penney and Kohl's often sell the style where numbers and letters are screened on. This version sells for about $30.
The sporting goods stores typically sell the replica version that average $55 for youth sizes, $35 for toddlers and $75 for adult.
Most young boys out there don't care what version they receive, as long as number 23 is on the back.
"Hester's the man," Laning said of the explosive athlete. "There's no player more popular than Hester in Chicago right now."
Explosive numbers
The Devin Hester jersey is tough to find this holiday season.
• Hester's jersey sales are up a whopping 247 percent over last year.
• Hester's jersey ranks No. 2 in Bears sales behind Brian Urlacher. Next is Rex Grossman, followed by Muhsin Muhammad. But Hester's jersey is the only one that is up in sales over last year.
• Hester's jersey ranks 20th among all NFL players. Last year it ranked 84th.
• The top selling NFL jersey is San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson followed by New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush.
Source: Reebok, official supplier of the NFL