PANINI AMERICA/PANINI GROUP STATEMENT ON FANATICS ANTI-TRUST

Since entering the U.S. market in 2009, Panini America’s goal has been to bring new collectors and consumers into the trading card category, rejuvenate the marketplace to benefit everyone from mass retailers and hobby stores, our licensed partners at the leagues and players associations and the individual athletes that we highlight and contract to individual deals to develop the most compelling products.

All while catering to the consumer and growing the overall trading card category globally.

Throughout our 60+ year history as the Panini Group and our fifteen-year history in the U.S. market with Panini America, we have driven the trading card category to unprecedented heights never before witnessed among our licensed partners and players through the development of the industry’s most popular trading card brands.

All with the primary focus on the consumer in allowing them to collect and consume our products however they want.

We have done this and continue to do this through product innovation, integration of new technologies, diversified sales distribution channels, marketing and strategic collaborations.

Panini America was the first of any trading card manufacturer to embrace, support and welcome casebreakers into the trading card community recognizing that how they consumed the product opened the door to engaging more consumers and building new collectors. This element helped provide a roadmap for how hobby stores could execute and engage their customers during one of the most challenging periods businesses experienced when customers couldn’t get to stores.

Panini America introduced digital trading card apps in 2015 and was the first and only trading card manufacturer to launch it’s own blockchain/NFT platform in 2020 – a space that we continue to remain committed to because that’s where a segment of our collectors choose to experience the world’s most popular trading card brands.

The Panini Group and Panini America is the only trading card manufacturer with a truly global reach with more than 16 subsidiaries around the world, a dedicated direct-to-consumer platform in China that caters to more than one million followers and ensures that our licensed partners can reach fans of their respective sport through trading cards all over the world.

The Panini Group and Panini America remain committed to growing the overall trading card category across the entire global ecosystem to cater to consumers, our licensed partners and our professional and NIL athletes.  As the market leader we take that responsibility seriously, and we will protect and defend our company’s mission as well as maintaining the overall health of the trading card category for all of those involved.