How is Sunderland's retail operation shaping up?

01/05/2024 07:00

With a new Hummel kit deal announced, commercial partnership with Fanatics confirmed and more changes hopefully in the pipeline, what do our writers make of the steps taken so far?

Andrew Smithson says...

This has been a long time coming and I'm cautiously optimistic.

Farming the retail stuff out has caused problems in the past but Fanatics appear to have a good reputation and the decision to relocate the club shop would certainly seem to suggest everyone is taking this seriously.

Fans want to support the club in any way they can, and decent merchandise options are a relatively easy way to enable this, so hopefully we see some decent gear being made available.

The news couldn't have been better timed, either. It mentioned 'plans to redefine fan experience' across several areas, including 'ticketing operations', and I'd literally just got back from the ticket office when I read it.

I can't fault the staff in there at all as they're always brilliant in my experience, but they're having to do their best to get through issues presented by Ticketmaster, whose own side of things appears to be a total mess.

From what I could tell, I and several others have all received correspondence from this external partner about impending direct debit payments for our 2024/2025 season cards that suggest we'll be overcharged this week, and as it's not the first time we've had issues with Ticketmaster, it's fair to say I'm mightily unimpressed.

Whilst the club employee that dealt with me was spot on, it's still going to take a load of unnecessary faff from the pair of us to get it all sorted and when neither the club nor myself are to blame, that's very frustrating.

I'd urge anybody reading this to check their bank statements when their first installment comes out over the next couple of days to make sure there have been no issues, and I would urge those at the club to see what avenues they have to either insist upon a better level of service or to find a partner that's more suited to our requirements.

I appreciate these things can take time to resolve and to be fair to Sunderland, they could already be taking action, but either way I'd suggest that ticketing deserves to be high on the agenda.

Jon Guy says…

I think it's good news as long as they understand that it's not simply about replica kit.

While the kit and training gear are naturally huge sellers, we've all noticed how the breadth of merchandise has shrunk considerably in recent years.

Indeed, the days when you could get everything from a Sunderland-themed golf glove to a bathrobe to a watch are long gone, and I look at some of our Championship rivals such as Leeds United and the range of branded goods they offer, and I wonder why we can't or won't do the same.

The success of Sunderland 'Til I Die raised our profile globally, so linking up with an international platform like Fanatics has to be a good move, and I just hope they can increase the range of what's stocked at the club shop. Get it right, and it could do wonders for the club and its revenue.

The return of Hummel, meanwhile, is brilliant. The kits they once produced for us were iconic, and I hope they'll look to offer more than just the kits the players wear on the pitch and in training.

The other issue is cost, and a sensible approach to pricing is a must, so I'm looking forward to seeing what they'll do.

Malc Dugdale says...

It's great to see more focus on the merchandising side of the club, as that's what it is- a business.

Neglecting it is potentially throwing away millions of pounds of revenue which could really help our club to financially improve and develop.

If shirts and other merchandise can raise profits to help update the stadium, for example, we'd all take that, and in turn it would add to the matchday experience and would probably bring more fans back through the gates.

The merchandise revenue stream frees up more funds for the football side, such as key signings and coaching appointments. It also helps with FFP in a small but key way, as our very high average attendances for this league already do.

That said, alongside these new partners, we desperately need to sort out access to the products, both online and in store.

Not too long ago, you could go to the club shop in The Bridges and buy a shirt any time you wanted. The stadium shop was also accessible and very well-stocked.

Our relegation to League One and the impact of the pandemic stripped it to the bone, but we're now an established Championship club and there should be reason not to step it up.

Of course we can only work to the financial levels we have in the Championship, and we don't want to go back to the days of irresponsible spending, but finding a balance can do much more than I think we are now.

The key issue is that there's no point in improving the products without improving the ability to purchase them. After all, Tesco doesn't make money when the doors are closed more often than they're open.

It's great news, but let's sort out our retail arm end to end, have it scaled to suit the level we're at, and ready to ramp right back up when we go up again.