Club Shop

[WYNESS101]

Last few times i have being in the club shop there doesnt really seem to be alot of new things in it.

Why do they never bring out new stuff? Theres still alot of things the club shop could be selling e.g. Lamps, Rugs for bedrooms, jewelry etc....the list goes on...

Maybe we should get a heap of ideas for new stuff to be taken in to the club shop? and put it forward to the club

Edited May 31, 2009 by WYNESS101

[L_G]

Last few times i have being in the club shop there doesnt really seem to be alot of new things in it.

Why do they never bring out new stuff? Theres still alot of things the club shop could be selling e.g. Lamps, Rugs for bedrooms, jewelry etc....the list goes on...

Maybe we should get a heap of ideas for new stuff to be taken in to the club shop? and put it forward to the club

Buying stock costs money and carries a risk that it doesn't sell. I do agree that the shop has often been understocked, but I don't think this is the time we will see an improvement in variety. More likely the reverse. We didn't even have a shop when we were in the 1st division before. I hope that isn't going to be the case this time as it provides a valuable income stream, but it will have to prove vialbe.

[caleyboy]

Last few times i have being in the club shop there doesnt really seem to be alot of new things in it.

Why do they never bring out new stuff? Theres still alot of things the club shop could be selling e.g. Lamps, Rugs for bedrooms, jewelry etc....the list goes on...

Maybe we should get a heap of ideas for new stuff to be taken in to the club shop? and put it forward to the club

Buying stock costs money and carries a risk that it doesn't sell. I do agree that the shop has often been understocked, but I don't think this is the time we will see an improvement in variety. More likely the reverse. We didn't even have a shop when we were in the 1st division before. I hope that isn't going to be the case this time as it provides a valuable income stream, but it will have to prove vialbe.

I clearly remember a club shop when we were in Div 2 never mind Div 1. It was run by Ian Braodfoot and opened only on match days.

[L_G]

There was stock sold from within the stadium. We had an even smaller portakabin on matchdays which did a roaring trade, but we didn't have a full time shop as we do now.

[Scotty]

We may not have had a "proper" shop LG, but the poster is correct, we did have a club shop, within the building that was operated by Ian Broadfoot and Peter McCallum on matchdays and stock could be purchased from it at other times by going to reception. They may not have had the range of stock that we have got used to in the SPL but it did exist.

Having said that, I agree with LG about carrying stock. For each product line there is usually a minimum order quantity, and for each overall order from supplier there is usually a minimum order value too. Any stock that is sitting there unsold is money tied up doing nothing. Its a no-brainer to try and make sure you have enough tops, polo shirts and such like but some of the other stuff is a gamble ...... expect to see the range decrease this season as the club (quite rightly) focus on the best sellers.

[BonnybridgeICT]

I've always been disappointed by the range of replica kit and training gear on offer through the club shop. For example, you can't get long sleeved shirts or goalie shirts anymore. The shop could easily off-set some risk by offering a pre-order pre-pay service when the new strip is due out. Fans wanting goalie shirts or long-sleeved shirts could then stump up the cash in advance for these 'lower demand' items. A small stock could then be bought in for sales throughout the season. Available training gear could maybe work the same way at the start of each season. The club could even have an official online survey running to assess the demand for othe items such as those mentioned by the op.

In these tough times, the club needs to maximise all potential income streams. Sadly there are second division teams with better club shop set-ups than us. I keep wondering how long it will be before the club shop link on the official website changes from saying "new 08/09 home strip available online"!

[Glebeict]

I always wondered why ICT didn't have a better setup Shop , and why are their shirts not for sale in regular stores?

I thought maybe it was because they were team and Players first- Which was good.

Then this year happened, and the failure to find a new manager last Nov. killed that idea.

[caleyboy]

There was stock sold from within the stadium. We had an even smaller portakabin on matchdays which did a roaring trade, but we didn't have a full time shop as we do now.

Maybe this is all before your time LG but we didn't have that joke of a portakabin stuck onto the front of the stadium. Ian Broadfoot and Kenny (Omar as he was affectionately known in his refereeing days) operated from a self-contained

shop (albeit small) within the stadium. There was no need for a full-time set up as there probably won't be next season. I still feel we are "playing at the game" of retailing club gear and it is about time someone in authority took the whole thing and gave it a shake. The first thing would be to demolish that shed stuck onto the frontage!

[caley100]

I think we have been playing at being an SPL side for a while, never mind a poor attempt at a club shop.

Pity we didnt have a builder tyoe as an owner to build us a proper club shop.

[DornochJAGGIE]

I want to buy one of those flybee jackets with the ICT badge on it, but the club shop have them in rediculas sizes. Like XS and XXXL :)

[WYNESS101]

They should at least try and get some keeper tops, more training kit and long sleeve tops. I think alot of fans would like long sleeve tops

[Kylef]

Ive always wished this aswell.

I got right behind the team in their relegation battle from about December time, became a bigger fan than ever even though ICT have always been my team.

So when i was up for the Kilmarnock game, i went in and bought ?170 worth of stuff. Tracksuits, away top, scarves, the whole shabbang, and i dont regret it...only wish there was more.

Seen Ian Black getting interviewed on Stv with a blue training top id love, and other things. Never becomes available though. Probably a thing i hate about being a caley fan...if it was any other top flight team, Aberdeen, Hibs etc you would have this all available to the fan.

Dont think it will be this season though, but hope they get their ideas together and get the shop up to scratch.

[WYNESS101]

I would love to have there white tracksuit and the red top you see some of the players wear

[BonnybridgeICT]

I think we're probably likely to be going in the direction of a 3 wheeled yellow van set up outside the stadium next season selling our replica kits out of a suitcase.

[L_G]

We may not have had a "proper" shop LG, but the poster is correct, we did have a club shop, within the building that was operated by Ian Broadfoot and Peter McCallum on matchdays and stock could be purchased from it at other times by going to reception. They may not have had the range of stock that we have got used to in the SPL but it did exist.

Having said that, I agree with LG about carrying stock. For each product line there is usually a minimum order quantity, and for each overall order from supplier there is usually a minimum order value too. Any stock that is sitting there unsold is money tied up doing nothing. Its a no-brainer to try and make sure you have enough tops, polo shirts and such like but some of the other stuff is a gamble ...... expect to see the range decrease this season as the club (quite rightly) focus on the best sellers.

A 'proper' shop was what I meant Scotty. I never meant to suggest we didn't sell merchandise in the lower divisions.

[WYNESS101]

It would be better if it was alot bigger. One thing i dont understand why dont the club have one in the centre of town? would be handy for alot of people. We've had our stuff in quite a few shops but after a while they stop selling it.

[Wyness13]

It would be better if it was alot bigger. One thing i dont understand why dont the club have one in the centre of town? would be handy for alot of people. We've had our stuff in quite a few shops but after a while they stop selling it.

The majority of Invernesian football fans are old firm supporters WYNESS101, probably due to ICT being a very young club. There was ICT stock sold in ZOO in the Eastgate centre and at one point Debenhams but it was removed as nobody bought it! We have to face the fact that as long as we have a woeful supporter following we will never really have a "real" club shop.

[CaleyD]

The majority of Invernesian football fans are old firm supporters WYNESS101, probably due to ICT being a very young club. There was ICT stock sold in ZOO in the Eastgate centre and at one point Debenhams but it was removed as nobody bought it! We have to face the fact that as long as we have a woeful supporter following we will never really have a "real" club shop.

It's not true that stuff was not selling, although you could argue that sales can always be better. The simple fact of the matter was that, in both cases, the "deal" was not working out as hoped for either party so they mutually terminated the agreements.

[+Wanderer]

The club shop is awful. 2nd division standard.

Not embarrassing, I doubt any away fans bother with it, but I went there wanting to spend some cash and left with nowt.

No room, no decent merchandise. I was in York market recently and they had some ICT rip-off stuff that was more interesting!

IN YORK...FAKE STUFF!!!

[WYNESS101]

The club shop is awful. 2nd division standard.

Not embarrassing, I doubt any away fans bother with it, but I went there wanting to spend some cash and left with nowt.

No room, no decent merchandise. I was in York market recently and they had some ICT rip-off stuff that was more interesting!

IN YORK...FAKE STUFF!!!

What kind of stuff were they selling?

[alimci]

Long sleeved purple training top in small... :P

And toasters. Everyone needs a toaster.

[Pele_Is_God]

2nd division standard is being generous, it's a joke of a club shop.

[stevico1]

2nd division standard is being generous, it's a joke of a club shop.

Totally agree, I wonder if any of our Directors would be happy with that as the main sales outlet of their main business, I would very much doubt it

[cal234ey]

It is very poor. It is far too small and they have to much rubbish for sale. Need to have more availability in terms of tops.

[Guest birdog]

This really is a no brainer. We have a small, and shinking, fanbase. We have aspirations of being an SPL club. What do the club do, waste money trying to improve a small part of the business? or concentrate on getting things right on the pitch in order to get us back up to the SPL and all the extra sponsorship and TV revenue, not to mention bringing back the hangers on who will no doubt disappear in Div 1?

If you want certain items of merchandise don't moan on here, phone up the club and select the options to get through to the shop. Talk to the lassies there, they are very pleasant and helpful. If they do not have your lampshade or whatever you are after ask for it, you never know maybe your inquiry will be the one which triggers the number needed to justify an order. If the queues and lack of space to move in the place on matchdays bugs you then don't become a part of the problem by standing about moaning that you can't browse, arrive earlier when it's quieter then you can be clear of the place when people who know what they want can get in and out efficiently without you getting in the way.

We have a lot more to worry about than the merchanise outlet.