Chiefs’ success drives business to local clothing shops
By Chris Fortune
Whether it’s something to wear in the office or a T-shirt featuring the NFL’s favorite celebrity couple, Chiefs fans will find a way to express themselves.
The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Baltimore Ravens 17-10 on Sunday and advanced to the 2024 Super Bowl, their fourth Super Bowl appearance in five years. Local businesses have benefited from the sustained success and storylines accompanying the team through the sale of Chiefs-related merchandise.
“It gives people something to talk about, something positive to talk about and something that everybody can kind of relate on,” said Myles Antle, general manager of Leibowitz Menswear. “We do see an influx, I would say, as far as business goes, when the Chiefs are successful. And we’ve had a pretty good run here these last few years.”
The men’s clothing store at 3702 Frederick Ave. offers more subtle merchandise with the Chiefs’ logo on red pullover jackets, quarter-zips and other seasonal wear.
“We hand-pick ours out, so we go in and pick all the styles and stuff that we want in the colors and whatnot,” he said. “The quality’s a little higher, it’s a little better-made stuff, and you just won’t find it a lot of places because it’s kind of unique to us.”
The Mark-It at 2239 N. Belt Highway offers embroidery and design services on an item of clothing a customer chooses. The store isn’t licensed to sell gear with the Chiefs logo featured on it, but they are still getting creative with their clothing.
“Right now, the big thing, of course, is the (Travis) Kelce-(Taylor) Swift relationship,” Owner Tracy Massey said. “So we do have numerous Kelce-Swift prints that have been very popular.”
Massey said the relationship became so popular that she decided to hop on the bandwagon and provide what many customers in St. Joseph were looking for.
“You’d be surprised at the older women or the middle-aged women that come in and get that,” she said. “It’s not limited to just the young ladies. You have more people, I think, that are happy that they found each other versus the haters.”
The Chiefs have generated storylines and excitement in the community since they started training camp at Missouri Western State University in July. Six months later, Chiefs fans in the area have even more to cheer for as the road to the Super Bowl begins.
“It’s been beneficial to a lot of the small businesses, and nobody here in St. Joe is going to be excluded from that,” she said. “I think that everybody in St. Joe is finding more success or finding more profit when the chiefs do well.”
