Why does Napoli make so many shirts? Since the start of the season it has already released nine jerseys
Just three months before the start of the championship, Napoli, fresh from signing with EA7 who will design all the uniforms, seems to have quickly forgotten all the production problems they had in the summer, releasing nine different jerseys. The latest arrival is the one dedicated to Diego Armando Maradona, released this weekend, available in 3 different colours and taking up a design already known, made several months ago by Giuseppe Klain, although not specified by the club, in the press release as in the social channels. If we make a quick calculation, in Italy but also in Europe, nobody comes close to the number of shirts released by Napoli this year but also in previous years. Not even Paris Saint Germain, who since the 2018 season have outsourced part of their production to Jordan while remaining under Nike, come close to more than four jerseys. In the Italian top flight, the exact same strategy is adopted by the other clubs, with Juventus and Inter always stopping at four in the previous season.
After the various experiments, the amazing presentations in ADL style with Inler and his lion mask, the Kombat jerseys of Kappa and kits used only in European competitions, Napoli closes a new agreement with Amazon, allowing one of the most famous marketplaces in the world to sell blue shirts. A decision taken by the son of ADL that proves successful, only in the first day Napoli managed to sell 1200 pieces, a success. Afterwards, due to the death of Maradona, comes a new shirt, with white and blue stripes that takes the design of the Argentine national team. But the shirt dedicated to Maradona is also inspired by the fourth jersey that the partenopei wore in the second year of De Laurentiis' presidency. So far nothing strange, except that it is already quite rare for a Serie C team to have a fourth shirt today, think in the 2005-06 season.
In 2021 came a small change, marking the arrival of the fifth seasonal shirt. A collaboration that allowed the club to get closer to the top teams in Europe, such as Paris and Juventus, by working with Marcelo Burlon. A strategy relating to branding and positioning, born not primarily for the product but to attest that the Neapolitan club has always been at the centre of certain dynamics, despite the greatness of some collabo has overshadowed what has been done previously.
In 2021 Napoli and net of the eight jerseys released so far, the Neapolitan team is not only first in the league, but also in this special ranking of jerseys. It is true that since there is no limit of jerseys that can be adopted, this could be a factor in the future, perhaps adopting the NBA model. A possible way forward, but at the moment that of Napoli seems a confusing strategy, with the high risk of both stressing the market and the patience of the fans.
