The Dallas Cowboys already had two pro shops in the Rio Grande Valley and knew they needed a third store in the region.

The initial inclination was to open a third RGV location in Harlingen. George Dunn, a senior retail manager for the Cowboys, led a team from the organization’s Frisco corporate office in scouting the region. The Valley usually ranks third in Texas among the best-selling markets for sales of Cowboys’ jerseys, T-shirts, caps, and all sorts of gear featuring the blue-and-silver team with the star.

“The RGV has been very important to us for many years,” Dunn said. “We had a 60-mile gap between our stores in McAllen and Brownsville. We looked at Harlingen, but in studying the analytics and demographics, we decided Mercedes was a better fit for our footprint in the Valley.”

And so it was that on the week of black Friday in November 2024 that the Cowboys opened their third pro shop location in the region at the Rio Grande Valley Premium Outlets. It’s located in the southeast corner area of the outlet mall. There were over 70 shoppers standing in line outside of the new store prior to its opening day.

“The store has been very well-received,” Dunn said of the new Mercedes store. “It’s located about equal distance between our stores in McAllen and Brownsville, and we didn’t want to cannibalize sales from our existing stores. We’re right there in the middle, (in Mercedes), and have definitely grown our sales and presence in the RGV.”

First Factory Store

The new Mercedes location carries the distinction of being the Cowboys’ first factory pro shop.

This means that on occasion the outlet mall store in Mercedes may be the first shop to debut certain new products as the Cowboys gauge fan tastes and preferences. Storefronts remain important points of sales for the Dallas Cowboys. E-commerce sales tend to attract a younger demographic. Older shoppers still usually prefer to touch and feel merchandise and get a good in-person look, Dunn said.

An added factor in the Valley, he said, is the Mexican national shopper. That element is a particularly big factor at the McAllen location at La Plaza Mall. The outlet mall in Mercedes is also a favorite destination for shoppers from Monterrey and other populous cities in northeast Mexico.

“Our (RGV) managers there gave us that insight,” Dunn said of the Mexican shopper demographic. “It was definitely a factor in advocating for a new location there.”

Blended in with local RGV shoppers, the Mexican national consumer adds to the popularity of the Cowboys in deep South Texas. The McAllen/La Plaza location is a top 20-selling store nationally for the Cowboys. In Texas, only the Dallas-Fort Worth area and San Antonio eclipse the Valley for sales of Cowboys merchandise and gear. El Paso will occasionally slip past the Valley for the third spot, but Dunn says there is no denying how important the RGV is to the Cowboys.

Having a new store in Mercedes – in the heart of the region – reaffirms the connection the NFL franchise has to the Valley. A first quarter visit in 2024 rekindled the aspirations of the Cowboys corporate office to bolster their already strong presence in the RGV.

“It was a really quick turnaround for us to open a new store in the Valley,” Dunn said. “We’re really pleased with our new Mercedes store and how it has been received.”

• By Ric Cavazos