Formula One clothing craze sweeps retailers ahead of Vegas debut
By Katherine Masters
NEW YORK (Reuters) — Formula One motor sports, which routinely draws top-tier luxury sponsors like Rolex, is expanding its roster of partners to retailers whose core business is selling clothing at American shopping malls.
Teen clothing chains Abercrombie & Fitch and PacSun are among the U.S. retail chains seeking to turn Americans' budding love affair with Formula One into sales of F1-inspired clothing lines, building partly on excitement for this weekend's inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix, the retailers said.
At the start of the year, the average ticket price for the three-day race weekend was $1,667 — more than triple that for some European races, such as the Belgian Grand Prix. Rolex paid $35 million in 2023 for a deal that includes title naming rights at two Grand Prix, according to research firm GlobalData.
The retail newcomers are targeting a broader base of young Americans — those tracking the sport and its drivers on social media, said Jay Prasad, CEO of sponsorship analytics platform Relo Metrics.
Ahead of the Vegas race, PacSun is selling a collection that includes a pair of $69 women’s cargo jeans and a $600 men’s leather jacket.
“We recognized that this is a global sport with a huge following that’s starting to creep into the U.S. in a big way,” said Richard Cox, PacSun’s vice president of men’s and global partnerships.
Other major U.S. players have already staked out a position in F1, including PVH Corp (NYSE:PVH)'s Tommy Hilfiger, a sponsor of Mercedes-AMG Petronas that began designing motor sports team kits in the 1990s. This year, the retailer released a clothing collection ahead of the Miami Grand Prix in collaboration with Mercedes and streetwear brand Awake NY, which included a
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