For decades, a trip to Lids meant one of two things: grabbing a fresh, on-field fitted hat or getting your favorite team’s logo embroidered onto a snapback. But if you walk into a Lids location today, the retail experience looks entirely different. Alongside the walls of headwear and jerseys, you are increasingly likely to find hobby boxes of Topps baseball cards, Pokémon booster packs, and high-end entertainment collectibles
Lids is no longer just an apparel store; it is aggressively planting its flag in the sports card and collectibles hobby
Advertisement
Nowhere is that clearer than at Fanatics Fest NYC, running from Thursday through Sunday. Lids is using the massive convention floor as the ultimate launchpad for a slate of exclusive, collector-first products that sit right at the red-hot intersection of streetwear, sports merchandise, and memorabilia
“Outside of Fanatics Fest, Lids is known as just a home for sports licensed apparel, headwear, and accessories,” says Adam Herstig, Lids’ SVP of Marketing & Partnerships. “Over time, we’ve gotten a little more deliberate on our entertainment side of the business, too. This is the mecca of a moment where we can come in and showcase our best stuff, and it’s proven to really benefit the fan.”
Bringing the “Chase” to Retail: The WWE Mystery Box
The crown jewel of Lids’ Fanatics Fest showcase is a brand-new collaboration with toy brand Ghostwrite: the WWE Mystery Box, retailing for $200. By leveraging a blind-box format, Lids is bringing the exact lottery-style thrill of ripping sports cards directly to licensed apparel
Advertisement
Each box contains one exclusive Lids headwear unit and a three-pack of Ghostwrite collectibles. To crank up the hype, every box includes a scratch-off prize card where every single participant wins. Prizes range from $10 store vouchers to high-end collectibles, premium event tickets, and authentic WWE Championship belts
To build on the excitement, WWE Superstars like Randy Orton, Dominik Mysterio, Bron Breakker, Liv Morgan, and LA Knight will drop by the Lids booth throughout the weekend for live unboxings
“That box is probably the first thing that will go, and it’s the one that we’re most energized around,” Herstig notes. “Some things are new, and some things are tried and true. As long as we bring both to the table, I think that’s the right way to think about it.”
Alongside the WWE activation, Lids is debuting premier streetwear items, including the highly anticipated John Geiger MLB Collection 2.0 ($64.99) and the Chase B Maximal 2.0 collection ($69.99). For collectors unable to make it to Manhattan, Lids is also rolling out these drops to physical storefronts to give the broader community a shot at the inventory
Redefining the In-Store Footprint
Lids’ presence at Fanatics Fest isn’t a one-off marketing stunt; it is a preview of a massive, long-term retail evolution. The company is actively restructuring its physical store footprint to accommodate the skyrocketing demand for trading cards and collectibles
“Shop-in-shops are getting carved out for all things collectibles, whether that’s head-on sports collectibles through Topps or through Pokémon, Disney, and the entertainment lens,” Herstig explains. “We want to make more room in our stores, let people come in, dwell, and rip open packs.”
To sweeten the deal for in-store collectors, Lids has launched a unique “Rip to Rep” loyalty program. If a customer pulls an autographed card inside a Lids store, the company rewards them with a free jersey, a value proposition that traditional local card shops simply cannot match. Lids plans to expand this program heavily, taking it directly to the National Sports Collectors Convention after Fanatics Fest wraps up
As sports culture undergoes a massive shift, the boundaries between different segments of fandom are completely dissolving. Today’s younger generation doesn’t view cards, hats, sneakers, and apparel as separate silos; they view them as a unified lifestyle aesthetic
Advertisement
Herstig views this cultural shift as the ultimate marketing opportunity, provided the brand can cater to both old-school sports fans and the new wave of streetwear collectors. Lids is heavily leaning into experiential customization, offering massive expansions of pins, patches, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare apparel customization at their booth
“There’s a new wave of the younger generation that may skew more into fashion skews, collectibles in all fashions, and even some of the customization benefits we have rolling out right now, like pinning and patching,” Herstig says. “It’s our job to make sure that we don’t alienate one while we grow the other. We still have aspirations to make this a home for all things sports, but there’s just things happening in culture that we have a great offering for. There’s no reason why we can’t have a 16-year-old and their parents shop side by side in our stores. We want to be able to capture both.”
Fanatics Fest NYC runs from Thursday, July 16, through Sunday, July 19, 2026, at the Javits Center in Manhattan. Fans attending the event can stop by the Lids booth to purchase the exclusive WWE Mystery Box for $200, the John Geiger MLB Collection 2.0 hat for $64.99, and pieces from the Chase B Maximal 2.0 collection starting at $69.99
Are you attending Fanatics Fest? What are you most excited for? Let us know on Mantel
