Manga hoops film Slam Dunk boosts sales of basketball merchandise in S. Korea

South Korean online shopping malls SSG.com and Gmarket and Auction posted increased sales of basketball-related merchandise after the Japanese basketball animated film “The First Slam Dunk” hit theaters.

SSG.com enjoyed a 26 percent on-year increase in its basketball-related sales from January 11 to 18, with the complete set of “Slam Dunk” comic books ranked first on the sales charts of its manga category.

In the same period, Gmarket and Auction reported a 488 percent surge in sales of basketball shoes a 350 percent increase in sales of basketball uniforms, a 32 percent jump in basketball bag sales, and a 92 percent increase in sales of other basketball equipment.

Sales of basketball manga jumped by 1,057 percent from the same period in the previous year, reflecting the success of “The First Slam Dunk.”

Inha University, professor, Eun-hee, who teaches consumer science, attributed the robust sales to the generation that enjoyed Slam Dunk in the 1990s now having enough consumption power to lead sales of basketball goods.