With less than two weeks to Christmas things are hotting up at signed memorabilia company Firma Stella. CEO Peter Johnson (below): “It’s gone crazy! The demand for authentic signed memorabilia has skyrocketed. The rarest pieces, like famed rugby shirts are flying out of our warehouse as people realise what great gifts they make. We’ve got a massive selection this year, including the biggest collection of Rugby World Cup memorabilia you can buy, from all the competing teams, and people are loving them. They look awesome framed and mounted on the wall”.
Firm Stella has grown from one teenager’s obsession to a multi-national company in less that five years, with Peter’s guiding hand at the helm. From signed golf balls to match worn jerseys, the company has a huge range of autographed items in stock and has recently added a large range of music and film memorabilia. “It’s my grab for world domination” explain Peter. “We cover every major tournament, from Wimbledon to F1 and the RWC, but we wanted to extend our reach to cover other markets as well.” The company now has signed items from Michael Jackson and Oasis to Sean Connery and Daniel Radcliffe.
One of the biggest problems in the memorabilia market is authenticity, which is why Firma Stella goes out of its way to establish provenance early on. “Most of our stock is obtained in person from the stars directly, either in the way of a signing session, or by direct approach. We then photograph or even film the signing which we include with the purchase” says Johnson. “We include a holographic certificate of authenticity (COA) with every item, with the holograms matching. That way there is no doubt, and we offer a lifetime guarantee.”
The company has big ambitions with the CEO moving to New York to establish US presence in the autumn of this year. “The collecting market in America is huge, with baseball cards being a particular favourite. The most famous, a 1952 card signed by Micky Mantle, the stuff of legend, last sold for $12.6m – Imagine finding one of those stuffed down the back of your sofa!”, Johnson quips.
“We have our own framing station, that’s why so many of our shirts are framed – it takes the hassle out of the buyer having to arrange it. And, if they buy an item that isn’t framed, even something like a rugby boot or football, we can frame it for them” add Johnson.
The company covers all major sports and a few surprising ones as well. “Our bread and butter are high quality football and rugby memorabilia – they cover the majority of sales. There’s a huge surge in interest of course when someone passes away, like Maradona and Pele, and the sad passing of Booby Charlton recently, but mostly the demand is from ardent fans who want a personal connection with their sporting hero. Imagine being a Saracens fan and having a signed Maro Itojejersey on your wall? There’s nothing better for a real City fan! We carry many other sports as well – horse racing, Olympic track-and-field, even snooker and darts. You’d be surprised how big the collector’s market is for these sports!
Firma Stella offers a wrapping service for all items and is guaranteeing Christmas delivery right up to the 22nd of December for UK and the 20th for international orders. You can shop here at https://www.firmastella.com and there’s 50% all orders in the run up to the big day!
Shop Rugby at Firma Stella: https://www.firmastella.com/rugby/
