The current club shop is naff. A converted shipping container dropped at the side of the stadium. (although it could remain open for match days - here me out please!) 

Here's a new idea, you decide whether it's good, bad or indifferent etc. I realise it's not directly a football matter, but is clearly club related. 

I suggest the old Farmfoods building in Academy Street is a good site. There is currently a redevelopment etc of Academy Street ongoing (academystreet.org). Why not have the City's only senior football team involved and situated in this historical part of the 'town'? 

I am no business guru, but the premises that was the shop floor of Farmfoods is quite large. The front section could be a shop / cafe. The rear could be panelled off with see through panels and be a soft play / football pitch area. Kids could play with sponge footballs as a safety measure (I realise there would be other H&S issues). 

The cafe area could be an earner in my opinion. Paid staff would be required but volunteers could assist as is done with charity shops. Also Inverness secondary school kids could maybe do volunteering / work experience there on Friday afternoons now that they have a half day on Fridays. There are various organisations such as Skills Development Scotland (SDS) and Inverness BID that could maybe assist and or provide guidance. 

Club wise, it would maybe get young kids 'interested' in our club and I am sure business minded folk amongst us could contribute suggestions, tips etc. 

Thoughts on this? 

 

 

 

Edited July 20, 20178 yr by Guest

Also, as that building is situated at a bus stop, maybe the free bus that passes the social club on Greig Street could pick folk up en route to the stadium on match days. Positive in my opinion.

Lastly, the young fans / teenagers would have somewhere to go before matches and would identify with the cafe in my opinion. 

Edited July 20, 20178 yr by Guest

Nice idea but unfortunately it would involve the board spending money... Non starter 

I kind of like the idea in principle ... a sort of Shop/Cafe/Play Area to bring in different clientele and widen the scope and increase the footfall over those who might solely come to a club shop to buy merchandise. Kids Play Areas are huge business over here. We are holding Simon's birthday party in one in a couple of weeks time and the costs involved in renting the party room then paying for the entry fee for all the invited kids are a real eye-opener !!!  I noted on my last trip to Inverness that there are one or two in the town with I guess Frankie and Lola's being the biggest (?). You will likely get shot down by a lot of folk with the argument about cost, city centre rates/rent etc and in the end those folk may be right, but I think you have a nugget of an idea that might be worth a closer look. 

A decent idea but at the wrong time. There would be a significant capital outlay in refitting the premises. Thereafter a very significant on going revenue cost in rent, business rates, utilities and additional staff costs with no guarantee of generating a profit.

It's not a prudent risk at the moment with our revenue likely to be a million pounds a year less at the very least following relegation.

I hear Sainsbury are earmarked for there.

50 minutes ago, Caman said:

The current club shop is naff. A converted shipping container dropped at the side of the stadium. (although it could remain open for match days - here me out please!) 

Here's a new idea, you decide whether it's good, bad or indifferent etc. I realise it's not directly a football matter, but is clearly club related. 

I suggest the old Farmfoods building in Academy Street is a good site. There is currently a redevelopment etc of Academy Street ongoing (academystreet.org). Why not have the City's only seniorC football team involved and situated in this historical part of the 'town'? 

I am no business guru, but the premises that was the shop floor of Farmfoods is quite large. The front section could be a shop / cafe. The rear could be panelled off with see through panels and be a soft play / football pitch area. Kids could play with sponge footballs as a safety measure (I realise there would be other H&S issues). 

The cafe area could be an earner in my opinion. Paid staff would be required but volunteers could assist as is done with charity shops. Also Inverness secondary school kids could maybe do volunteering / work experience there on Friday afternoons now that they have a half day on Fridays. There are various organisations such as Skills Development Scotland (SDS) and Inverness BID that could maybe assist and or provide guidance. 

Club wise, it would maybe get young kids 'interested' in our club and I am sure business minded folk amongst us could contribute suggestions, tips etc. 

Thoughts on this? 

 

 

 

Clach fans may be surprised to hear that we are Inverness's "only senior football club".

28 minutes ago, ictbob said:

I hear Sainsbury are earmarked for there.

In Tesco town..... are you sure ????? ?

Good idea in theory but I can't see it ever happening in Inverness to be honest. Cost is the main issue here and I think it would struggle to get the punters through the door initially. However, if was to include other local clubs (not just football) then it could appeal to wider audience maybe? Could be worth a bit of market research..but that costs too.

1 hour ago, CableGuy said:

Nice idea but unfortunately it would involve the board spending money... Non starter 

I think that's a wee bit harsh there CableGuy. They have brought in 9 new players in the last few weeks which will always be the priority. No players, no team, no anything lol. 

Interesting points raised above. Maybe another shop in Academy Street then. The one across from Craigdon Mountain Sports which was a skateboarding shop. Smaller and less outlay etc? 

4 minutes ago, Caman said:

I think that's a wee bit harsh there CableGuy. They have brought in 9 new players in the last few weeks which will always be the priority. No players, no team, no anything lol. 

Interesting points raised above. Maybe another shop in Academy Street then. The one across from Craigdon Mountain Sports which was a skateboarding shop. Smaller and less outlay etc? 

It was meant a bit tongue in cheek really, but my point is over the years just like with the existing shop, the facilities the state of the stadium the car park etc.... Yeh I know they have spent what they've had to on players managers etc, but as far as anything extra or investing in long term projects or community it just dosent ever seem likely 

There's a reason we don't have a town centre shop and it's very simple - the club just don't want one. I know they always trot out the 'we've looked into it' line whenever they're asked about it but the simple answer is that they just don't want one. 

Perhaps a good idea would be to have, as you mentioned before, a cafe and shop combo but rather than just ict stuff get other local clubs, clach, Inverness city, shinty and rugby, even County, involved. Whereby merchandise is available to purchase for more than one club.

There could even be a tourist desk where people could book tours, outdoor excursions etc. Maybe even a match ticket facility?

This way it could be a joint venture, less risk but potential extra revenue streams for the clubs.

Would love to see it - I hate seeing our town centre represented by Ugly Sister shops when there is a fully professional local team! However, I would imagine, like others, that the revenue would not cover the additional costs, so we're stuck with the shipping container and playing second fiddle to Glasgow-centric outlets on our turf. Grim!

Edited July 20, 20178 yr by PerfICT

17 minutes ago, PerfICT said:

Would love to see it - I hate seeing our town centre represented by Ugly Sister shops when there is a fully professional local team! However, I would imagine, like others, that the revenue would not cover the additional costs, so we're stuck with the shipping container and playing second fiddle to Glasgow-centric outlets on our turf. Grim!

Dont think we have ugly sister shops anymore in Inverness tbf

1 hour ago, old caley girl said:

Dont think we have ugly sister shops anymore in Inverness tbf

Result!

2 hours ago, CableGuy said:

It was meant a bit tongue in cheek really, but my point is over the years just like with the existing shop, the facilities the state of the stadium the car park etc.... Yeh I know they have spent what they've had to on players managers etc, but as far as anything extra or investing in long term projects or community it just dosent ever seem likely 

Fair enough. 

2 hours ago, Council Juice said:

Perhaps a good idea would be to have, as you mentioned before, a cafe and shop combo but rather than just ict stuff get other local clubs, clach, Inverness city, shinty and rugby, even County, involved. Whereby merchandise is available to purchase for more than one club.

There could even be a tourist desk where people could book tours, outdoor excursions etc. Maybe even a match ticket facility?

This way it could be a joint venture, less risk but potential extra revenue streams for the clubs.

Given my name, 'Caman' I support the shinty bit and other Inverness teams, but Nairn County? (lol) 

Maybe ICT can find a spot in the new tourist information shop on the High Street? Maybe sell merchandise from there as the town is hoaching with tourists. There is something like 50% more crusie ships this year at Invergordon than last year. I'm sure some tourists that are football fans might buy a scarf, which is more likely than a shirt. Every penny helps 

Edited July 20, 20178 yr by Guest

2 hours ago, Renegade said:

There's a reason we don't have a town centre shop and it's very simple - the club just don't want one. I know they always trot out the 'we've looked into it' line whenever they're asked about it but the simple answer is that they just don't want one. 

To be fair to the club, it's not a case of don't want but can't afford.

ICTFC Dorandos 

There are hardly any shops in the city centre anymore, let alone a Caley shop.

 City centre shops are money pits.

1 hour ago, Kingsmills said:

To be fair to the club, it's not a case of don't want but can't afford.

It's a lovely idea & one that I'd fully support, but really can't see the club going for it.

Maybe, as suggested elsewhere, a joint venture? If the quality of the cafe was good enough (there are lots of decent places in town already, so it would have to be excellent), maybe this might be a draw by itself? Best example of somewhere like this I can think of is the Mountain Cafe in Aviemore.

It's definetly worth talking about ideas like this, so good on you Caman for suggesting it & getting a discussion going!

Edited July 20, 20178 yr by jingsmonty
Additional text

2 hours ago, Kingsmills said:

To be fair to the club, it's not a case of don't want but can't afford.

Disagree.

1 hour ago, jingsmonty said:

It's a lovely idea & one that I'd fully support, but really can't see the club going for it.

Maybe, as suggested elsewhere, a joint venture? If the quality of the cafe was good enough (there are lots of decent places in town already, so it would have to be excellent), maybe this might be a draw by itself? Best example of somewhere like this I can think of is the Mountain Cafe in Aviemore.

It's definetly worth talking about ideas like this, so good on you Caman for suggesting it & getting a discussion going!

I remember watching a mini-documentary on Rosenborg once and I'm sure they had a cafe (though I think it may have at their stadium).  It's a nice idea but we're too backwards in Britain to do something like that.  If it was done right and done well I'm sure it'd get plenty of clientele from fans and well wishers and I'd certainly rather pay my money there than the likes of Costa or Starbucks (who certainly don't need your cash).  It would have be done well though.  A soulless concrete room like the stadium bar or a dump like the Caley Club, would certainly not be blueprints.

Edited July 20, 20178 yr by Renegade

Caman has to be commended for the thought and his concern, but I'm afraid I tend to echo Kingsmills' reservations. These are large premises so would come with a large rental after the capital cost of fitting out. It would therefore be very difficult to achieve the kind of turnover to make such an enterprise a going concern, and that's before you consider that this is located in the city centre which currently seems to have some kind of retailing bubonic plague. Furthermore, the location is in one of the less affluent  and less central parts of the city centre. Indeed I always suspected that Farmfoods located there so their bargain basement pricing policy could attract a less affluent passing trade - many of whom in that neck of the woods will be Clachers who may not feel all that well disposed towards buying merchandise from "the city's only senior football team". 

There is no doubt that the current club shop is woefully inadequate, but I also suspect that its current turnover is so far short of what it would take to make the Farmfoods suggestion viable that even a major transformation would still, unfortunately, make this a non-starter.

The idea is really good Caman, something along these lines would not only be enterprising and forward thinking but essentially beneficial to our Club.

I hope that someone will think deeply about trying out something like this, Given the right site, management, staff and a great deal of research there is every chance it could succeed. Of course it would take a lot of money to get it up running and established but nothing is impossible in an entrepreneurial world. There is a real business opportunity there, one that could be a great asset to both Club and Investor.

Good thinking Caman I really hope something transpires from this.