KBO gear goes on sale at Office Depot

Baseball

Published: 03 Jul. 2024, 16:56 Updated: 04 Jul. 2024, 13:51

KBO gear goes on sale at Office Depot

The ″KBO Zone″ at the Office Depot Seolleung Station branch in southern Seoul. [KBO]

There's a new place to pick up KBO gear, a few aisles down from the printer ink.

Korean baseball fans can now stock up on shirts, stickers, pennants and other kinds of KBO swag at the league’s "official goods store" — Office Depot.

The first Office Depot “KBO Zone” will open at the Seolleung Station branch in southern Seoul, according to a press release Wednesday, ahead of the KBO All-Star weekend.

A photo of one display case, presumably at the Seolleung Station shop, shows several racks of T-shirts, mitts, bats and more — including a poster of a baseball on a skateboard — next to a wall of colorful stationery. And stickers spelling out the slogans "Feel The Ground" and "Sliding To Your Life" adorn the windows facing the sidewalk.

[KBO]

Also on offer are 2024 KBO official collection cards and “baseball team products,” according to the Wednesday press release.

Office Depot and the KBO in June signed a memorandum of understanding to “promote joint marketing” and seemingly rebrand Office Depot as something bigger than an office supply depot, expanding its reach into the lifestyle market.

Office Depot stores in Korea use the name and brand of the American office supplies seller, but have operated as a separate business since Office Depot, Inc. sold its Korean operation in 2017.

Following the All-Star games on July 5 and 6, the retailer will open KBO Zones at 11 more of its physical locations in Korea and will sell All-Star themed merch for fans who were unable to attend the games in Incheon.

〈i style=""〉Correction, July 4: This story previously referred to Office Depot stores in Korea as branches of the American office supplies seller. Office Depot in Korea was separated from the U.S. business in 2017.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]