[Albion] *new* Europa League Limited Edition "Pavilion" Kit

[timbha]

Adidas may be better than Nike in terms of range of "clobber" - I have no real idea.

But you simply can't compare us with Arsenal - they are just at a different level commercially which means they will get a lot more attention and service.

I only run in Nike shoes and gear, and I get through a lot of it, so I spend a fair bit of time hunting down deals and bargains. I see a lot of very, very nice Nike gear for clubs such as Liverpool, Spurs, Barcelona and PSG - they have huge ranges of Nike technical gear with subtle and not-so-subtle club branding. I imagine Arsenal are the same with Adidas due to their scale.

I know it’s your site Bozza but what right do you have coming on here talking sense, when there are so many experts here on branding, kit design, order processing, shop design, commercial contracts, etc.

Unfortunately no one has yet come up with the commercial numbers to justify outlets at Gatwick, Heathrow, Harrods, the Lanes, etc, etc when everyone seems to accept that we are effectively selling a Nike product in our colours/brand where the profit margins are small and buyer (Albion) influence is low when compared to Arsenal, etc.

We’d all love to have more choice and time to choose our Albion clobber, but the flip side is more redundant stock and lower margins. That’s if Nike/other are willing/able meet our demands

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

I know it’s your site Bozza but what right do you have coming on here talking sense, when there are so many experts here on branding, kit design, order processing, shop design, commercial contracts, etc.

Unfortunately no one has yet come up with the commercial numbers to justify outlets at Gatwick, Heathrow, Harrods, the Lanes, etc, etc when everyone seems to accept that we are effectively selling a Nike product in our colours/brand where the profit margins are small and buyer (Albion) influence is low when compared to Arsenal, etc.

We’d all love to have more choice and time to choose our Albion clobber, but the flip side is more redundant stock and lower margins. That’s if Nike/other are willing/able meet our demands

I've noticed you always come on to these threads defending the club's stance on running out of kit a couple of games into the new season. Sort of Chailey Lite. I don't suppose your job title in the day job would be Head Of Albion Kit Ordering by any chance?

 

[schmunk]

I have no idea how much money it would cost or what the implications are. But if you can buy a f***ing Palace shirt at Gatwick Airport you should be able to buy an Albion one.

County affiliation / road quality ignored, Gatwick is closer to Selhurst than it is to Falmer...

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

County affiliation / road quality ignored, Gatwick is closer to Selhurst than it is to Falmer...

Couldn't Gatwick at least sell Albion Ladies kit then? That's just down the road in Crawley

 

[timbha]

I've noticed you always come on to these threads defending the club's stance on running out of kit a couple of games into the new season. Sort of Chailey Lite. I don't suppose your job title in the day job would be Head Of Albion Kit Ordering by any chance?

I try to bring some balance before posters do themselves an injury.
Regards
PBOBE

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

We the fans are part of the problem. The club made a big play a while back about shirts being used for two seasons but that was quietly dropped.

Yes I know the Europa shirt is special but this season, there have been three new shirts released together with the various training tops etc that seem to change frequently throughout the year - we has a 'pre-season' training kit for sale for gawd's sake!

As it is, they are creating 'demand' by only having limited availability on each of these items - even if that means hiding shirts from the Amex shop so people buy something else that day or restricting online availability.

All of the time that fans keep on buying this stuff, nothing will change, prices will keep increasing, more limited editions will come out. I wish we would show some backbone, stop buying everything in a Pavlovian response and force the club / Nike to use the Brentford model of kits lasting for two years but can't see it happening.

 

[BNthree]

It is insane that we don't have more of a presence in the city centre. You'd never know Brighton even had a football team. And then yes coupled with the Nike supplier situation it all feels very tinpot, which is completely at odds with how the club runs itself.

Definitely agree with this but must point out that the club have adverts on the ticket barriers at the station advertising the Churchhill Sq shop so a step in the right direction.

 

[MattBackHome]

Trust pilot have 1000’s of reviews of DH Gate . 1.8 out of 5 . Lots of complaints about goods not received , incorrect sizes and impossible to get a refund .

Thanks for the warning. I've splurged on 3 different kits for the family for the princely sum of £45 inc postage from f***-knows-where.

 

[GoingUp]

Adidas may be better than Nike in terms of range of "clobber" - I have no real idea.

But you simply can't compare us with Arsenal - they are just at a different level commercially which means they will get a lot more attention and service.

I only run in Nike shoes and gear, and I get through a lot of it, so I spend a fair bit of time hunting down deals and bargains. I see a lot of very, very nice Nike gear for clubs such as Liverpool, Spurs, Barcelona and PSG - they have huge ranges of Nike technical gear with subtle and not-so-subtle club branding. I imagine Arsenal are the same with Adidas due to their scale.

As the composition of the football technical kit is pretty much the same as running kit, I have been briefly tempted in the past to buy some other club stuff, when I've seen it heavily discounted, as it will do the job for running just fine, but I've always seen sense and not pulled the trigger.

I wasn't comparing just us with Arsenal/Adidas but even the big clubs against them.

I've not seen any other big clubs come close, even the way Arsenal present it with a street edge makes it even more appealing.

My point is Arsenal are head and shoulders above everyone, they've nailed the retro gear, the Adidas casual gear and even the non Adidas 'pure club' gear.

I wear a lot of Nike base layers too but also Under Armour's and the UA always outlasts the Nike stuff by some considerable distance.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Thanks for the warning. I've splurged on 3 different kits for the family for the princely sum of £45 inc postage from f***-knows-where.

Would be good if you could report back on the quality of the kit before the club bans NSC from mentioning DH Gate ever again

 

[BNthree]

DHGate is like eBay in that there are loads of individual sellers rather than buying it from DHGate themselves. Some sellers will be fine, some will be shit. It’s so low priced it is worth risking it.

 

[MattBackHome]

Would be good if you could report back on the quality of the kit before the club bans NSC from mentioning DH Gate ever again

Don't worry I have a lifetimes experience in being cryptically obtuse. When you see me start a thread about the quality of the Egyptian Cotton Sheets from my supplier in Guangdong Province you'll know.

 

[Mellotron]

Definitely agree with this but must point out that the club have adverts on the ticket barriers at the station advertising the Churchhill Sq shop so a step in the right direction.

I have to admit I don't live in Brighton anymore, probably go there about 2-3 times a months so I acknowledge others will be more up-to-date than me.

If it's true that more is being done to show club visibility in the city centre then excellent, I'm delighted to hear that.

 

[Live by the sea]

I’m not advocating buying replica kit from dodgy sites . I would prefer the money goes to the club and it’s all bought from our own online shop or the official store

 

[pornomagboy]

Thanks for the DH Gate tip, I'm all over that like a something on a something else. Absolutely bargaintastic.

had a look at it no badge on shirt or nike tick

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

To the club, the question is. Do they look at selling shirts as purely a money making exercise? (in which case stock ordering is a cost v predicted sales exercise in ordering the right quantity)



Or is selling shirts also about branding? Is there a point about creating a buzz and awareness around the club, which might feed into the commercial performance of the club in other ways

My thinking is this. FFS FFS FFS. This is our time. This is our moment. People want to wear our shirts in Coldean, Kyoto and Quito. Why are we buggerring around trying to make sure we don’t have to discount from £60 to £40 towards the end of the season. We just sold a player for £115m?

The idea that people have made long journeys from other countries and are coming out of our pop up shop disappointed as we don’t have a kit to sell them and have no timescale on when we ever will have one is hideously embarrassing.

Now is the time to build our profile, now is the time to start to compete commercially. Now is the time to win more fans. Yes, we might lose money (incredibly modest amounts by football standards) initially, but we’ve got huge numbers of people effectively asking to pay £60 to be a billboard for the product we sell and we’re telling them to go away.

Ditch Nike now.

Change tack completely on merchandising approach.

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

And yes, the non kit merchandise is very tired, generic and unimaginative.

New partnerships needed.

We’re in Brighton. There’s no shortage of fashiony, designy, creative type people who could improve on the current offering if you gave them 5 minutes

 

[Dave the OAP]

I assume they have all gone to our Japanese fans. Sod the rest of us

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

To the club, the question is. Do they look at selling shirts as purely a money making exercise? (in which case stock ordering is a cost v predicted sales exercise in ordering the right quantity)



Or is selling shirts also about branding? Is there a point about creating a buzz and awareness around the club, which might feed into the commercial performance of the club in other ways

My thinking is this. FFS FFS FFS. This is our time. This is our moment. People want to wear our shirts in Coldean, Kyoto and Quito. Why are we buggerring around trying to make sure we don’t have to discount from £60 to £40 towards the end of the season. We just sold a player for £115m?

The idea that people have made long journeys from other countries and are coming out of our pop up shop disappointed as we don’t have a kit to sell them and have no timescale on when we ever will have one is hideously embarrassing.

Now is the time to build our profile, now is the time to start to compete commercially. Now is the time to win more fans. Yes, we might lose money (incredibly modest amounts by football standards) initially, but we’ve got huge numbers of people effectively asking to pay £60 to be a billboard for the product we sell and we’re telling them to go away.

Ditch Nike now.

Change tack completely on merchandising approach.

Top rant!

And top spelling out to the club the bleeding obvious that they currently appear to be unable/unwilling to address. What actually gives?

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

I assume they have all gone to our Japanese fans. Sod the rest of us

Yep, when people who look like you or I log on they have some automated detection with makes sure they withhold them from sale from us. Same as when we walk into the shop, they quickly hide them all behind the counter