SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — Local Central New York businesses benefited from the success of Boeheim’s Army, the Syracuse alumni team in The Basketball Tournament. Stores such as Manny’s on Marshall Street have seen a small uptick in sales due to the team’s successful run.
Even with limited apparel options, Manny’s saw customers come through the door and shop online for Boeheim’s Army gear. Alumni have been very interested in buying Boeheim’s Army team apparel, which benefitted the Marshall Street business.
“We’ve had merchandise on our website for a couple of weeks and we’ve seen strong sales both online and in the store.” said Manny’s General Manager Mike Theiss.
Theiss also pointed toward the COVID-19 pandemic as a reason why people wanted to buy Boeheim’s Army apparel. He’s seen customers wanting to support a team they’ve seen on TV as the world recovers from the lockdowns caused by the virus.
“People are feeling like things are starting to gradually return to normal and this is another diversion from kind of a crappy year,” Theiss said.
Manny’s only had two shirts available with Boeheim’s Army licensing due to the pandemic. Theiss mentioned that the store would normally have other options such as Boeheim’s Army jerseys and shorts to sell, but couldn’t get them planned and prepared in time because of delays caused by COVID.
However, Theiss mentions that his store received a small but welcome boost to sales in the summer during a time when usually there are no Syracuse sports to drive customer interest.
