A headquarters site search for Fanatics Inc., a Jacksonville-based online retailer of licensed sports merchandise, has been an industry topic for much of the year, and the latest speculation is that the former Comcast operations center in Southpoint is a possible location.
Sources, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the deal, say Fanatics might have settled on the vacant building for its headquarters and Fanatics administrative functions.
Corporate headquarters are targeted industries by the city and state, which typically offer economic incentives for such deals. Companies do not make final decisions on site locations until such incentives packages are approved.
City and state communications representatives were not immediately available for comment about Fanatics.
A Fanatics spokesman did not return calls for comment.
The almost 120,000-square-foot building at 6805 Southpoint Parkway is shown on loopnet.com as an "excellent location in a class A development" to make an "ideal telemarketing/financial services center."
Sandra Surface with the international Kennedy Wilson real estate investment and services firm is listed as a contact. She was not immediately available for comment. The Kennedy Wilson website shows a Jacksonville office at 6621 Southpoint Drive N., near the former Comcast building.
The online retailer of officially licensed sports merchandise, sports collectibles and memorabilia operates its primary warehouse location in West Jacksonville at 5245 Commonwealth Ave., its principal address, according to state corporate records.
However, the Comcast building is near Fanatics' expanding call center operations at 6800 Southpoint Parkway.
The former Comcast center sits on 17 acres in the South Jacksonville business park, which is at Butler Boulevard and Interstate 95. The building was developed in 1989. It is owned by SA Challenger Inc.
In June, The Wall Street Journal reported that Fanatics Inc., which started in Jacksonville in 1995, raised $170 million in a new funding round, more than doubling its valuation to $3.1 billion from the year before.
The Journal reported that Michael Rubin, chief executive of Fanatics' parent company, Kynetic LLC, said in an interview the online seller of licensed sports merchandise expects $1 billion in revenue this year, up from $800 million last year.
Rubin expects to generate the revenue through a focus on sales, primarily online, of officially licensed jerseys, mugs, jackets and other merchandise, according to the Journal. Rubin said the company is profitable, without providing specifics, and has no plans to take it public.
"The valuation rockets Fanatics over a host of e-commerce sites hovering around the $1 billion mark, such as Zulily Inc. and Rearden Commerce Inc., and suggests there may still be room for growth in an increasingly crowded field that is still dominated by Amazon.com Inc. and eBay Inc.," wrote Greg Bensinger of the Journal.
The Journal said Fanatics' valuation brings it closer to competitors that sell more merchandise. Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. is worth about $6.5 billion on revenue of $5.8 billion, the newspaper reported.
Kynetic is based in Conshohocken, Pa. Rubin told the Journal the money would, among other moves, help Fanatics increase its $500 million inventory, fund an overseas expansion and bolster its distribution, including a planned new warehouse in the Western U.S.
Brothers Alan and Mitch Trager created Fanatics after the Jacksonville Jaguars franchise was announced in 1993. The business began as a retail shop in a small room in the back of a mall, the company reports. Online retail sales began in 1997.
Fanatics says it also powers the e-commerce sites of the NFL, NBA, NHL, NASCAR and PGA Tour along with ESPN, NBC Sports, CBS Sports, FOX Sports and more than 200 collegiate and professional team properties.
Its websites include fanatics.com, fansedge.com and mountedmemories.com.
Fanatics formerly was known as Football Fanatics Inc. It changed its name to Fanatics Inc. in June 2011 and as of June 17, 2011, it operated as a subsidiary of Kynetic LLC.
The fanatics.com site lists job openings for positions in Jacksonville, Conshohocken, Boulder, Colo., Northbrook, Ill., Frazeysburg, Ohio, and Louisville, Ky.
Job postings for Jacksonville include corporate development director, merchandise planning director, customer experience team leader, benefits administrator, graphic artist, senior e-commerce business analyst manager, senior software engineer, systems manager, technical recruiter and more.
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