Nike Reveals New LPL China Uniforms

• Nike reveals 16 new uniforms for LPL China
• Esports apparel is becoming an even bigger business
• Nike’s entrance into the market is reasuring, though concerns about monopolization abound

Global apparel giant Nike has revealed the 16 new uniform it has designed for teams in LPL China. The uniforms will go on sale on October 1, 2019.

Nike Designs LPL China’s Team Uniforms

As the official sportswear sponsor for the League of Legends Pro League (LPL) in China, Nike has taken care of the new team uniforms, which have been entrusted with the company. The result is over 16 uniforms with a wide V style and combinations of different colors along with the league’s official logos, including the brand’s own Swoosh insignia.

The Nike x LPL Gamer t-shirt sold out in a few minutes… pic.twitter.com/7igRAbZoYr

— Ran #LEC (@ran_lpl) April 22, 2019

Starting October 1, the uniforms will go on sale and generate additional funds for the organizations. The league itself took place at the Shanghai’s Mercedes-Benz Arena. The latest round promoted three teams to the League of Legends World Championship 2019, the global and ultimate competition for League of Legends. As a result the teams to represent China in the international fray at this year’s finals include:

• FunPlus Phoenix
• Royal Never Give Up
• Invictus Gaming

Moving forward, all three teams will wear the uniforms while attending the Championship. As to the rest of the teams, they will return in the 2020 LPL Spring Season also wearing the new uniforms.

None of the uniforms will feature any sponsors logos – or at least, no uniform has been designed so as to feature any third-party sponsorships, other than the league itself and Nike. Nike’s one of the latest mainstream companies to actively enter the esports space as the opportunities to market to a young demographics have become quite the outstanding draw for any serious investor.

Case in point is the Mercedes-Benz Arena which was built with investment help from the German automaker in a bid to capture interest in the segment. With the franchising model in esports becoming more prominent, specifically for games such as Overwatch, Call of Duty and League of Legends, more mainstream investors are expected to continue investing.

Good Examples from the World of Esports Clothing

Some good examples from the world of esports apparel has been the story behind ATEYO, a now-established apparel maker focusing on competitive video gaming and branding to that specific audience.

Foot Locker has moved to selling Champion Athleticwear Esports at retail venues which marks the pervasiveness of the segment already. Champions has already secured multiple fruitful partnership,a and the company is behind the clothing designs of a number of high-profile esports companies, including OpTic Gaming , Dignitas , Counter Logic Gaming , Spacestation Gaming, and Renegades.

With the esports industry hitting $100 billion in 2019 – or at least expected to – the clothing business is definitely going to be a substantial part of the growth. However, no-one has evidence whether the business will take off. Nike’s decision to enter the market is reassuring, but it’s also a precursor to a quick monopolization.