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

The club do need to do something better than the portacabin. That is fine for matchdays but on other days its not going to generate much in the way of passing trade or tourist trade. 

If a permanent shop is not feasible then what about a so-called 'pop-up shop' somewhere in the city centre for the summer? There is usually no shortage of empty units in the centre unfortunately and it might be a good idea. I have seen dozens of these in Toronto over the last couple of years from varying sellers, including Toronto FC and artists like Drake or the Weeknd to brands such as Adidas, Nike and others ... They open a place for a week and in the case of TFC they locate it 'uptown' and sell stuff to people in some parts of the city who cant get down to the official club shop to buy as well as some exclusive gear only available at that location for the duration. [Although they have matchday kiosks inside the stadium, the club shop in Toronto is located a couple of miles from the stadium inside the Air Canada Centre where the Raptors and Maple Leafs play so its a one-stop shop for all teams]    

I do like the idea of a 'multi-purpose' venue so that it does not have to rely solely on merchandise sales and could perhaps have a cafe or meeting place of some sort but as many have said, that would require more upfront investment and perhaps a longer turnaround time to start making a profit (if ever) .... I may not be looking for a bit of 'Scaddish' tat for my friends in 'littleville Wyoming' but on my recent trip home I did make purchases in the big new shop on Bridge Street. It was huge and had all I needed for friends and colleagues back in Toronto ... a lot of the exact same stuff as the Woolen Mill but at significantly lower prices .... It was also very busy. busier I would say than the little tartan stores on the other side of Bridge street or in the market. If ICT could tap into that then I am sure it could be a goldmine. 

The other way it could be done - and again this is speculative - is that instead of asking retailers to stock ICT merchandise, you have your own shop and invite small, local businesses to peddle their wares inside the ICT store ... the kind of (non perishable) goods you might find at a farmers market or craft fair. I saw this in a few galleries and other shops in Iceland last year and it seemed to be a decent idea. Maybe its something that BID (and former ICT chief exec Mike Smith !!!) could look into not just for ICT but to make empty shopfronts available on a short term basis like this for others or to assist in actually helping small businesses in an attempt to re-invigorate what has become a depressingly dingy and uninteresting city centre.      

2 hours ago, Scotty said:

the kind of (non perishable) goods you might find at a farmers market 

You mean like Ross County scarves? 

Is the Victorian Market not pushed as some kind of tourist attraction to some degree? If so, and I am probably imaging it, a wee shop in there could be an idea. Last time I went through the place there was a load of empty units although I seem to recall folk saying the rents are quite high in there.

It would certainly tick the "location" box anyway and you wouldn't need to take a massive one (oo er) on.