Merchandise

[redobit]

With the fantastic recent success and the high hopes for next sesaon surely this is to time to start the Merchandise Train a rolling for the Christmass. Hugh money is spent on presents and why not rovers stuff.

Personally I believe the follwoing need to be addressed and soon:

1. Myteam.ie still have 'club crest to come' - so thats that out as a gift.
2. New jersey for next sesaon, no one knows - so thats that out as a gift.
3. Are season ticket prices to rise and will they be on sale of the Christmass.

Xmass might be over four weeks away but Now would be the time to start pushing these things as great gifts for rovers fans.

[sligoman]

3. Are season ticket prices to riseGiven our extra fixtures next season, I think it's safe to assume that they will.

[Rovers Maniac]

I think a season book/ticket will only cover the league game and not cover European games, but what it will do is give you priority in buying tickets for matches if Rovers. i.e. only allowed to bring x amount of people to an away game etc. I'd say the season ticket will be a big seller this crimbo.

[Titan]

The myteam product has the new crest. As soon as the club launches its new crest we will despatch the pack to anyone who has ordered. This will be well before christmas.

[Inside Man]

Given our extra fixtures next season, I think it's safe to assume that they will.
Indeed you are right. With us playing every team next year twice at home = 18. Will mean a bit more than last year.
Although it is cash at gates for Setanta and purchaced ticket for European games.

[roversforever]

The myteam product has the new crest. As soon as the club launches its new crest we will despatch the pack to anyone who has ordered. This will be well before christmas.

Any chance of a bit of confirmation on this from somebody?did dbrannigan not say a while ago that he didn't know anything about his new crest??:confused:

[srfc1928]

I think a season book/ticket will only cover the league game and not cover European games, but what it will do is give you priority in buying tickets for matches if Rovers. i.e. only allowed to bring x amount of people to an away game etc. I'd say the season ticket will be a big seller this crimbo.
Will they be available in time for Christmas?
On the back of our recent success the club should really try and promote them.
Its money in the bank regardless of how the season goes.
Set up a stand beside the Lotto in the Arcade for Christmas and they’ll sell no problem.

Galway had/have a good idea on Season tickets,
Example : Season ticket costs €250
Receive €150 worth of vouchers with ticket
Cost of ticket to supporter €100, in theory.

Companies pay to give away vouchers etc.
Examples
Tesco receipts : Bistro Bianconi Buy 1 pizza get 1 free, value €20
Sligo Champion : Sweeney oil, buy 500L get €50 off next delivery, value €50
Do a deal with mens fashion retailers, customer spends €100 gets €10 off
That’s €80 straight off.
Every ones a winner especially the company giving the voucher as they don’t have to pay for the distribution or advertising costs.

As RM said another selling point would be Season ticket holders are given priority for UEFA Cup tickets

Make them available online to purchase for fans who live away from Sligo but still want to contribute to the club.

Just on another point
I’m a season ticket holder at the Showgrounds for the last few seasons, but this season I only renewed it at the last minute.
There was no contact from the club whether I wanted to renew it or not. I know 2 guys in work who did not renew their seasons tickets,
not because they didn’t want to its just that they weren’t that bothered, but if they had been contacted in some way shape or form they would have renewed.

The club should have a database of ticket holders and send reminder letters at the appropriate time. Personnel touch goes a long way.

[Redkenrover]

Any chance of a bit of confirmation on this from somebody?did dbrannigan not say a while ago that he didn't know anything about his new crest??:confused:

This was discussed in another thread where RoryH said there would be no new crest and Dermot B didnt know anything about it. I emailed the company responsible for myteam.ie but didnt get the courtesy of a reply. http://foot.ie/showthread.php?t=104997&page=2

As regards our merchandise it is very poor. I tried to buy two home shirts in the middle of the season in the "club shop" and was told they were sold out. This was an hour before kick off.
Club needs to have a serious look at this soon. A big opportunity will be lost with Christmas just around the corner and all the goodwill and enthusiasm around the club at the moment.

[Inside Man]

Just on another point
I’m a season ticket holder at the Showgrounds for the last few seasons, but this season I only renewed it at the last minute.
There was no contact from the club whether I wanted to renew it or not. I know 2 guys in work who did not renew their seasons tickets,
not because they didn’t want to its just that they weren’t that bothered, but if they had been contacted in some way shape or form they would have renewed.
I can also say this has happened. A friend of mine who was a season ticket holder the year before said he will get a season ticket defo but will wait until he was contacted by the fella who had got him the ticket the year before(no names). Well there are no prizes for guessing that he was never approached, and never got a season ticket last year.
He would be a fella who would go to maybe half the games in a year, so the club were missing out in not approaching him.

[srfc1928]

This was discussed in another thread where RoryH said there would be no new crest and Dermot B didnt know anything about it. I emailed the company responsible for myteam.ie but didnt get the courtesy of a reply. http://foot.ie/showthread.php?t=104997&page=2

As regards our merchandise it is very poor. I tried to buy two home shirts in the middle of the season in the "club shop" and was told they were sold out. This was an hour before kick off.
Club needs to have a serious look at this soon. A big opportunity will be lost with Christmas just around the corner and all the goodwill and enthusiasm around the club at the moment.

The other night at the 83 dinner, they showed footage of a game from the mid eighties,
during the coverage on the game it also showed the old Souveneir shop.
Many items on sale at the time, such as programmes, badges, scarves etc.

Fast forward to 2008, we have no club shop.
Merchandise is hard got, and what is available, how much revenue do we receive?

We seem to have very little control over this dept.
The club need to put a plan in place as regards merchandise.
We need to sit down with our kit supplier and come up with a range for 2009.
i.e. decide this is the club tracksuit, club polo, training top etc and make them available for sale asap through which ever channel benefit’s the club the most.

At the moment you can walk into Jako and get the Rovers crest printed on anything.
What benefit is this to the club. i,m not having a pop at Jako here it’s a business and will not turn custom away, it’s the clubs responsibility to look after its own interests

Look at last season for example, how many games into the season was it before the first team received its new strip never mind it being made available to the fans.

Contrast this set up with say, Shamrock rovers.
http://www.shamrockrovers.ie/srfcshop/

I know the club probably cant afford to launch an online shop but look at the difference in approach as in regards to merchandise

[neutrino]

Fast forward to 2008, we have no club shop.
Merchandise is hard got, and what is available, how much revenue do we receive?

We seem to have very little control over this dept.
The club need to put a plan in place as regards merchandise.


Contrast this set up with say, Shamrock rovers.
http://www.shamrockrovers.ie/srfcshop/

I know the club probably cant afford to launch an online shop but look at the difference in approach as in regards to merchandise

This has been in a bone of contention for a very long time. The club simply do not realise that merchandise are the clubs crown jewels. I remember the old sligo town supporters club having a very good shop in Showgrounds where you could buy anything. But one or two had a gripe about it and had the shop closed. They have their own shop now and that's great but it doesn't carry very much stuff all the time.

The Jako deal needs reviewing - maybe even get tenders elsewhere to stir things up. Rovers dont seem to have control of their own crest which jako will put on anything. Jako do a fair bit for Rovers but no more than any other kit supplier. Jako gave preference to getting drogs jersey sorted before ours last season.That's not good enough - Sligo town and county made JAKO not the other way around. Merchandise should bring in alot of money on average seasons and soar in good seasons. The club need to sort this.If they controlled their own merchandise and kit supplier they'd make alot more money than now. There are good margins on running merchandise yourself.

A website shop has failed to materialise time and time again. Again the club fail to see the value of having one but I would think this is down to the supplier once again.

With success comes the chance to build and increase funds coming in. I'd be shocked if merchandise doesn't become a main income stream if it was set up and run well by the club. But it's a hard thing to do. I believe the club did look at going to tender a couple of years back but whatever happened nothing came of it.

[redobit]

The myteam product has the new crest. As soon as the club launches its new crest we will despatch the pack to anyone who has ordered. This will be well before christmas.

MyTeam are waiting for the club to launch the crest, yet on the Rovers website they are promoting the myteam Package. (http://www.sligorovers.com/content/view/676/1/)
Someone id want to get the finger out.

[srfc1928]

Companies pay to give away vouchers etc.
Examples
Tesco receipts : Bistro Bianconi Buy 1 pizza get 1 free, value €20
Sligo Champion : Sweeney oil, buy 500L get €50 off next delivery, value €50
Do a deal with mens fashion retailers, customer spends €100 gets €10 off
That’s €80 straight off.
Every ones a winner especially the company giving the voucher as they don’t have to pay for the distribution or advertising costs.

Bray beat my pizza idea by a matter of hours !
http://www.braywanderers.ie/index.php?id=600&backPID=551&tt_news=565

[roversman]

I can also say this has happened. A friend of mine who was a season ticket holder the year before said he will get a season ticket defo but will wait until he was contacted by the fella who had got him the ticket the year before(no names). Well there are no prizes for guessing that he was never approached, and never got a season ticket last year.
He would be a fella who would go to maybe half the games in a year, so the club were missing out in not approaching him.

i agree with this and also when selling tickets the mc should have a list of season tickets holders and call or ring them id say they are lossing a nice few euros as some people wont just give unless they are asked

i said this before and i got slated on here but it is true you have to go out and ask people nowadays i know most fans dont need to be asked but there is a few that need to be
i have never in my life being asked to buy a ticket for any of the draws they have down through the years orrenew my season ticket
and i have being buying my season ticket for 30 years

[dublinred]

Would a pay monthly by direct debit option help boost the sales ? Might also help the MC budget a bit better this year and avoid another repeat of this seasons fiasco, I think giving the club money up front is dangerous.

[neutrino]

Would a pay monthly by direct debit option help boost the sales ? Might also help the MC budget a bit better this year and avoid another repeat of this seasons fiasco, I think giving the club money up front is dangerous.

Yeah I think it would work. Alot of people might not have the full price to hand. An easy pay scheme might even encourage a person to buy another season ticket for their son, daughter, father or whatever. A bit of administration to make sure everyone pays the proper number of installments for the price of the ticket(s).

I wouldnt think it would be dangerous giving the money up front. But I get where your coming from in terms of there being a regular income over the season and not just at the start and then being left strapped towards the end of the season.

[lifelong rover]

good idea- monthly payments, but I see great difficulty policeing it if people were to default on the payments it would be impossible to i d the unpaid season tickets

[Redkenrover]

good idea- monthly payments, but I see great difficulty policeing it if people were to default on the payments it would be impossible to i d the unpaid season tickets

Ticket would have to be paid for before season was to start to be sure it would work. We now have over three months to get this sorted, admin could be sorted out before christmas and then spread the cost over the two months before start of season.
Also the club are definately launching the new crest next week, despite all the denials that there wasn't to be one:rolleyes::rolleyes:
Mabye they are just after finding it down the back of the couch;)

[roversforever]

I was going to buy a rovers shirt as a christmas present but i won't be doing so if the crest is going to be changed after christmas. Im sure there is more people in the same situation. The club need to clear this up one way or the other or they will lose money.

[Redkenrover]

I was going to buy a rovers shirt as a christmas present but i won't be doing so if the crest is going to be changed after christmas. Im sure there is more people in the same situation. The club need to clear this up one way or the other or they will lose money.

Hold off cause they are definately changing it. I wqs going to get some stuff myself but I contacted myteam.ie for clarification when I saw them advertising the SRFC affiliate pack with the byline "new crest coming soon" I got a very clear and informative response telling me that they hope to send out the SRFC packs the day after the club launch the new crest next week. They will also be doing a leaflet drop to every house in Sligo the day of the launch with the new crest and details of how to order your supporters pack. Pity the club couldnt be more forthcoming with the info.

[roversforever]

Hold off cause they are definately changing it. I wqs going to get some stuff myself but I contacted myteam.ie for clarification when I saw them advertising the SRFC affiliate pack with the byline "new crest coming soon" I got a very clear and informative response telling me that they hope to send out the SRFC packs the day after the club launch the new crest next week. They will also be doing a leaflet drop to every house in Sligo the day of the launch with the new crest and details of how to order your supporters pack. Pity the club couldnt be more forthcoming with the info.

Cheers for the info mate!Could it be that the club or keeping quiet on this because they're happy enough to let fools go out and buy the current shirt for xmas presents as its making them money!;)

[LondonRover]

good idea- monthly payments, but I see great difficulty policeing it if people were to default on the payments it would be impossible to i d the unpaid season tickets

Not at all - lots of teams over here (my local one QPR for example) simply issue tickets to cover the period already paid for. E.g. if you pay in 5 instalments you get tickets for the first 1/5 of the season for your first instalment, next batch of tickets when you pay the next instalment etc... Not all fans like it (it obviously implies mistrust) but it does work.

That said, easy as it sounds, with our record of admin maybe it is unworkable! :D

[Knappagh Red]

There have been people in work asking me if there will be a new strip available before Christmas, can anyone confirm?

[neutrino]

There have been people in work asking me if there will be a new strip available before Christmas, can anyone confirm?

before christmas :eek: That would be excellent but wouldnt think it will be available until nearer the start of the season.

[Leedsrover]

alright lads i know this has probably been asked before but dose anyone have a clue as to the rovers website and the online shop if it will ever be up and running it would be great for people not living in Sligo like me and others for jerseys t-shirts and tickets for away games in dublin and now with the european games and setanta cup.
i think also a calender each year of the squad would be a good money generator anyway if anyone has any info would be great. looking forward to getting home more next season to see what could be a great season..

[forza rovers]

alright lads i know this has probably been asked before but dose anyone have a clue as to the rovers website and the online shop if it will ever be up and running it would be great for people not living in Sligo like me and others for jerseys t-shirts and tickets for away games in dublin and now with the european games and setanta cup.
i think also a calender each year of the squad would be a good money generator anyway if anyone has any info would be great. looking forward to getting home more next season to see what could be a great season..the trust do one last years them was rovers teams from the past.

[D Brannigan]

Following recent speculation with regards to the club crest Sligo Rovers Football Club would like to issue the following Statement.
The club crest will not be changed for the 2009 season, and we have decided to keep the same home jersey for next season which means it will not have changed in two years. A proposal was made to the club by outside sources asking us if we would like to modernise the crest. We discussed the matter at board level and we decided we would consult the supporters, our members, professional staff, kit suppliers, and sponsors before making any decision. Due to the new ruling by the FAI that clubs must have an away jersey that does not clash with the home jersey of the team they are playing, unfortunately the away jersey will have to change.
Also due to the unfair criticism of our Kit suppliers Jako by certain Individuals on the internet we would like to make the following statement. Jako Ireland will also make a statement .
Here is the facts about Jako Ireland.
It is a family owned, Sligo Business.
Jako wanted nick to be based in Dublin and he refused as he lives in sligo and wanted to employ sligo people who were previously very good to him during his time with rovers. He lived in Dublin and had loads of contacts there and jako offered him financial assistance to go there.
Nick borrowed money so he could sponsor Sligo Rovers 19,000 irish punts worth of gear immediately after he started the company with his wife, Fiona. The manager at the time , Jim McNally said the deal was better than most clubs he played at in Scotland and he and the players liked the quality of the gear. The stewards, programme sellers, and staff all received sponsored gear and it helped give the club an identity as everyone associated with the club had the club colours. Nick buys from Jako and distributes it., Nick Pays for every item he sponsors, Jako do not help each company with sponsorship nor advertising..... they have always put there money into the product and service instead.

Nick is proud to give something back to rovers. How many former players contribute towards their clubs in LOI??? Nick knew that Rovers were a good club to get the Jako name out there.

Nick did all the kit deals withe Rovers when he was commercial manager. Our deal with mitre was up and nobody wanted to sponsor us as the near relegation the year before and lack of sales of replica put everyone off, and kit deals were hard for clubs to get. The mitre and the match winner deals only gave 25 sets of 6 items for the team and 2 sets of gear home and away. The club then had to buy extras for the remaining 15 players signed with the club, gear for new players,and gear for the staff. Replica was hard to get as was replacements for damaged or lost gear.
With the jako deal the club received the best quality gear in their range and tons of it, They used enough for the panel, and sold some of it in a makeshift club shop. We got a great response from allot of supporters, and the players loved the gear. Kit sponsorship is not like any other sponsorship as the product is so expensive and time consuming to print that you have to get your money back or you go out of business. It is well known that most leagues replica sales are well down as the prices are too high and the clubs change the jerseys every year. Jako have asked the club to change the home jersey every two years. However, we have had so many problems with the referees being over fussy with clash of colours that we were forced a few times to change the jersey.
Also the original price was 39,95 Irish punts. After the change over to Euros Jako set the price at 49.95 euros which was 2 euros less the the punt price when everyone else was using the changeover to raise the prices. The price has not changed since then..
Nick has asked me to make a statement about the comments on the forum. He will never again reply to comments made by nameless, faceless people who make false allegations just to ad a bit of controversy to the forum. He will only reply in the future to comments from supporters who give their names.
1. Sligo rovers Jerseys were ready in time for last season. They were the first ones made as Drogheda United could not find a main sponsor and they used Last years jersey for their first three matches.
2. Jako had the home and the away jerseys in time for the season for both the team and supporters but the club only secured sponsorship for the sleeves and the shorts a few days before the first home match. No other kit supplier would wait this long, and Nick had no problem with this as he knew how much work the committee put in to finding the sponsors.
3. Sligo rovers had all their training gear in time for the season.
4. Sligo rovers and sligo town have been very important in the success of Jako but we have the agency for North and South and we have agents throughout them both, and it was hard work and graft that made jako.
5. Jako spent 1,000 euros to kit out a club shop 3 years ago however, we realise that the club had not got the resources nor the time to have it open 6 days a week.
6. Jako has offered to fund a temporary e-commerce site for the web shop until the club has to resources to do so and we are working with another company to try assist in running a club shop in the showgrounds that will be open 5 days a week.
7. We do more than most kit suppliers and we are proud of it.
8. Last year the FAI asked Sligo rovers to have a third kit 3 days before an away match in Dublin so to appease the referee. We produced the Green in time and this was on top of the sponsorship deal. Do you realise the logistics of this if you had a deal with a company in Dublin, or the UK????
9. Do people want all the money to go out side of Sligo? Do people begrudge us making a living and providing jobs???? Do people realise all the work we put into getting everything right for the club???
10 . We have never refused jerseys for Fundraisers, Funerals, or special requests from the club.
11. We have our competitors phoning us to see if we want any of their clubs as they are fed up with the hassle and the bad press of the league.
12. We have had 4 clubs on to us in the last 2 months looking for a deal because they have been let down by other suppliers.
13. We have sponsored games, 2,000 euros worth of footballs and caps as well as the normal sponsorship deal.
14. We have sponsored the kits for the present auction (I contacted the club and suggested the do the auction after I saw the shams website) , the Liverpool Legends match which were auctioned, free gear that raised 1,000 euros for the 25th league winners anniversary, and the Shay Given Jersey which was auctioned by the club as well.
15 The shames merchandise is more expensive than ours.!!!
16. We have helped the club liaise with the main sponsors, and we have helped them get associate sponsors. and jako are at present working with the club and other companies to embark on a major fundraising initiative.
17. We have never turned anyone down for noteworthy charities and our company along with the club did all the work to raise €10,0000 euros for the children's ward in Sligo General.
18. Finally, why don't these nameless bloggers pick on someone who Does NOTHING for the club.

[sligoman]

Great to hear that about the crest not changing.

Also, fair play to Nicky Brujos, keep up the good work!

[srfc1928]

The other night at the 83 dinner, they showed footage of a game from the mid eighties,
during the coverage on the game it also showed the old Souveneir shop.
Many items on sale at the time, such as programmes, badges, scarves etc.

Fast forward to 2008, we have no club shop.
Merchandise is hard got, and what is available, how much revenue do we receive?

We seem to have very little control over this dept.
The club need to put a plan in place as regards merchandise.
We need to sit down with our kit supplier and come up with a range for 2009.
i.e. decide this is the club tracksuit, club polo, training top etc and make them available for sale asap through which ever channel benefit’s the club the most.

At the moment you can walk into Jako and get the Rovers crest printed on anything.
What benefit is this to the club. i,m not having a pop at Jako here it’s a business and will not turn custom away, it’s the clubs responsibility to look after its own interests

Look at last season for example, how many games into the season was it before the first team received its new strip never mind it being made available to the fans.

Contrast this set up with say, Shamrock rovers.
http://www.shamrockrovers.ie/srfcshop/

I know the club probably cant afford to launch an online shop but look at the difference in approach as in regards to merchandise
great to hear that the club crest and jersey are not changing for next season
in relation to the above post,it was trying to be constructivley critical of the club not Jako.
It is up to the club to have its own club shop, online shop etc. not jako.
In relation to the delay on the jersey, it could of been comunicated better at the time.
Exciting times ahead for Rovers and Jako next season.
Thanks for the information and also to Jako for its support through the years.

[roversforever]

Delighted to see the above statement because criticism of Nicky and Jako on this sight is something that has bugged me, it's totally unwaranted as the man is rovers to the core and has always put the club first. Anybody suggesting otherwise hasn't a clue!

[Knappagh Red]

15 The shames merchandise is more expensive than ours.!!!
.

Untrue, a 5 year olds Shams away jersey is 45 euro, the Rovers equivalent was 57 euro

[Sean South]

Really glad we're not selling out having a new "modern" crest.

No al calcio moderno

[Well Red]

The official Statement by Jayo and Sligo Rovers regarding the "crest" is way over the top. All was needed was a simple statement that was contained in the first few lines of the statement. Why did Jayo and Sligo Rovers feel the need to make such a profound statement, we all respected what both parties were doing but now !!!!!!!

[Rory H]

Embarrassing all round.

Forum(this one) does more bad than good at the end of the day.....rather than respond to it, would be better to just cut ties with it.

[sligored]

i think the club/jako reaction is way over the top. the people on here are genuine supporters in the main. anyone can make observations on here and hiding behind usernames is not true because most people here know each other.

if nothing else comes of this i am going out this week to buy a club jersey for my son because it has been clarified that the jersey remains the same.

some people on here cant afford to become shareholders so they sometimes dont have the opportunity to enquire as to merchandise deals. they may be better supporters than a lot of our shareholders so they should not be hung out to dry for asking questions

this has been clarified now and if this thread was not started do you think we would be any the wiser to whats going on in the club.

the club cant afford to alienate people when we need all the supporters we can get.

[roversforever]

i think the club/jako reaction is way over the top. the people on here are genuine supporters in the main. anyone can make observations on here and hiding behind usernames is not true because most people here know each other.

if nothing else comes of this i am going out this week to buy a club jersey for my son because it has been clarified that the jersey remains the same.

some people on here cant afford to become shareholders so they sometimes dont have the opportunity to enquire as to merchandise deals. they may be better supporters than a lot of our shareholders so they should not be hung out to dry for asking questions

this has been clarified now and if this thread was not started do you think we would be any the wiser to whats going on in the club.

the club cant afford to alienate people when we need all the supporters we can get.

To be honest mate its not just this thread,im a regular reader of this forum and i've seen people questioning nicky before and suggesting that maybe other deals would be better for the club. I can understand why the man would be p!ssed off about it because he has always looked after the club no matter what has been asked of him.

As you said it's good to finally have the crest and jersey issue cleared up,i will also be buying one as a xmas present!

[redobit]

As the guy that started this thread I feel I should respond.

Firstly let me say that my original post in no way makes criticism of Jako Sports or Nicky. In fact I have dealt with him on a couple of occasions and consider the service received to be first-rate.
I started the thread in order to raise notice to a possible missed opportunity that could arise if certain issues were not clarified regarding the Merchandise Train, as I put it, for the Christmas. My feeling was that lots of money was being spent on presents and why not Rovers stuff. Shops make huge profits at this time of year and the Sligo Rovers brand should be no different.
To be honest I’m more than a little surprised at the hostility of the clubs statement. I wish I hadn’t started the thread now, however in the same breath I think if I had not, then would we be any wiser regarding a different crest and a new jersey!
As for the ‘nameless bloggers doing nothing for the club’, personally I cant believe that statement. Since the breaking news of the financial situation I personally have put as much of my time and effort as I could afford into the Rovers.
Also, people like myself almost feel we have to air our views on forums like this one, when I consider that last season I sent two letters addressed to the committee, with my name, address and phone number attached. The response to both letters, absolutely zero.

As per my original post, the above is but one thing, and that is Positive Criticism in order to improve the club we all love so much.

[Guts&Glory]

Following recent speculation with regards to the club crest Sligo Rovers Football Club would like to issue the following Statement.
The club crest will not be changed for the 2009 season, and we have decided to keep the same home jersey for next season which means it will not have changed in two years. A proposal was made to the club by outside sources asking us if we would like to modernise the crest. We discussed the matter at board level and we decided we would consult the supporters, our members, professional staff, kit suppliers, and sponsors before making any decision. Due to the new ruling by the FAI that clubs must have an away jersey that does not clash with the home jersey of the team they are playing, unfortunately the away jersey will have to change.
Also due to the unfair criticism of our Kit suppliers Jako by certain Individuals on the internet we would like to make the following statement. Jako Ireland will also make a statement .
Here is the facts about Jako Ireland.
It is a family owned, Sligo Business.
Jako wanted nick to be based in Dublin and he refused as he lives in sligo and wanted to employ sligo people who were previously very good to him during his time with rovers. He lived in Dublin and had loads of contacts there and jako offered him financial assistance to go there.
Nick borrowed money so he could sponsor Sligo Rovers 19,000 irish punts worth of gear immediately after he started the company with his wife, Fiona. The manager at the time , Jim McNally said the deal was better than most clubs he played at in Scotland and he and the players liked the quality of the gear. The stewards, programme sellers, and staff all received sponsored gear and it helped give the club an identity as everyone associated with the club had the club colours. Nick buys from Jako and distributes it., Nick Pays for every item he sponsors, Jako do not help each company with sponsorship nor advertising..... they have always put there money into the product and service instead.

Nick is proud to give something back to rovers. How many former players contribute towards their clubs in LOI??? Nick knew that Rovers were a good club to get the Jako name out there.

Nick did all the kit deals withe Rovers when he was commercial manager. Our deal with mitre was up and nobody wanted to sponsor us as the near relegation the year before and lack of sales of replica put everyone off, and kit deals were hard for clubs to get. The mitre and the match winner deals only gave 25 sets of 6 items for the team and 2 sets of gear home and away. The club then had to buy extras for the remaining 15 players signed with the club, gear for new players,and gear for the staff. Replica was hard to get as was replacements for damaged or lost gear.
With the jako deal the club received the best quality gear in their range and tons of it, They used enough for the panel, and sold some of it in a makeshift club shop. We got a great response from allot of supporters, and the players loved the gear. Kit sponsorship is not like any other sponsorship as the product is so expensive and time consuming to print that you have to get your money back or you go out of business. It is well known that most leagues replica sales are well down as the prices are too high and the clubs change the jerseys every year. Jako have asked the club to change the home jersey every two years. However, we have had so many problems with the referees being over fussy with clash of colours that we were forced a few times to change the jersey.
Also the original price was 39,95 Irish punts. After the change over to Euros Jako set the price at 49.95 euros which was 2 euros less the the punt price when everyone else was using the changeover to raise the prices. The price has not changed since then..
Nick has asked me to make a statement about the comments on the forum. He will never again reply to comments made by nameless, faceless people who make false allegations just to ad a bit of controversy to the forum. He will only reply in the future to comments from supporters who give their names.
1. Sligo rovers Jerseys were ready in time for last season. They were the first ones made as Drogheda United could not find a main sponsor and they used Last years jersey for their first three matches.
2. Jako had the home and the away jerseys in time for the season for both the team and supporters but the club only secured sponsorship for the sleeves and the shorts a few days before the first home match. No other kit supplier would wait this long, and Nick had no problem with this as he knew how much work the committee put in to finding the sponsors.
3. Sligo rovers had all their training gear in time for the season.
4. Sligo rovers and sligo town have been very important in the success of Jako but we have the agency for North and South and we have agents throughout them both, and it was hard work and graft that made jako.
5. Jako spent 1,000 euros to kit out a club shop 3 years ago however, we realise that the club had not got the resources nor the time to have it open 6 days a week.
6. Jako has offered to fund a temporary e-commerce site for the web shop until the club has to resources to do so and we are working with another company to try assist in running a club shop in the showgrounds that will be open 5 days a week.
7. We do more than most kit suppliers and we are proud of it.
8. Last year the FAI asked Sligo rovers to have a third kit 3 days before an away match in Dublin so to appease the referee. We produced the Green in time and this was on top of the sponsorship deal. Do you realise the logistics of this if you had a deal with a company in Dublin, or the UK????
9. Do people want all the money to go out side of Sligo? Do people begrudge us making a living and providing jobs???? Do people realise all the work we put into getting everything right for the club???
10 . We have never refused jerseys for Fundraisers, Funerals, or special requests from the club.
11. We have our competitors phoning us to see if we want any of their clubs as they are fed up with the hassle and the bad press of the league.
12. We have had 4 clubs on to us in the last 2 months looking for a deal because they have been let down by other suppliers.
13. We have sponsored games, 2,000 euros worth of footballs and caps as well as the normal sponsorship deal.
14. We have sponsored the kits for the present auction (I contacted the club and suggested the do the auction after I saw the shams website) , the Liverpool Legends match which were auctioned, free gear that raised 1,000 euros for the 25th league winners anniversary, and the Shay Given Jersey which was auctioned by the club as well.
15 The shames merchandise is more expensive than ours.!!!
16. We have helped the club liaise with the main sponsors, and we have helped them get associate sponsors. and jako are at present working with the club and other companies to embark on a major fundraising initiative.
17. We have never turned anyone down for noteworthy charities and our company along with the club did all the work to raise €10,0000 euros for the children's ward in Sligo General.
18. Finally, why don't these nameless bloggers pick on someone who Does NOTHING for the club.

Dermot, I can only see 2 posts (SRFC1928 and neutrino) out of the 26 posts prior to your statement that mention Jacko and could be viewed as commenting adverslyin respect of Jacko.

For the club to issue such a strongly worded statement over this matter is both excessive and embarrasing.

You make it sound like there was a campaign by hundreds who commented advesrsly on Jako - this is simply not the case.

As I say two posts mentioned/criticise Jako, the rest outlined opportuities for the club to round off the merchanidise area of income with most posts querying whether or not the Club crest would be changed as it would affect people's Xmas purchasing of Rovers jerseys etc.

As regards your repeated (I say repeated as you used that term previously on other posts) accusation of nameless bloggers, there is no rule on the website stating that your own name must be used and indeed.

Indeed by the very fact people post on this forum shows they care for the club and I would think it is fair to say all support the club given they spend time here posting.

These are the fans you are attacking by your statement.

For the club to issue such a sweeping, tar everyone with the same brush statement both here and on the main rovers website is frankly insulting and disgraceful.

[sligoman]

I find it embarassing that it was put up on the official website given the number of spelling mistakes/poor grammar in it.

[Rovers1]

the main problem alot of people have with Jako is that we dont know how much SRFC makes off the sales of SRFC gear, jerseys etc.

[Well Red]

Good post by Guts & Glory and I fully agree with him that the term nameless bloggers is wrong and in fact I suggest it should be dropped from this forum. whatever our posts are at least we are showing interest in the welfare of the club. As a new member (lifelong fan)I find the forum very interesting and we get a lot of information before we generally can read about it in the media. So lets drop the term nameless bloggers and let everyone contribute suggestions or ideas that in one way or another are in the interest of this fantastic club.

[Redzer]

Good post by Guts & Glory and I fully agree with him that the term nameless bloggers is wrong and in fact I suggest it should be dropped from this forum. whatever our posts are at least we are showing interest in the welfare of the club. As a new member (lifelong fan)I find the forum very interesting and we get a lot of information before we generally can read about it in the media. So lets drop the term nameless bloggers and let everyone contribute suggestions or ideas that in one way or another are in the interest of this fantastic club.

Alas this seems to be the way most of the MC looks at the fans. When they came begging for 130K, did we not respond? Short memory lads.

[sligored]

Alas this seems to be the way most of the MC looks at the fans. When they came begging for 130K, did we not respond? Short memory lads.

this statement and the club pros silence since it was criticised makes me wonder if the club care more about jako than the genuine supporters. i am not sure if i will be adding to jakos profits for the fourth xmas in a row.

Sligo rovers FC is all i care about on this issue.

[Shiba]

Just read this thread! Think the statments about Jako are very unfair and unfounded,Last march I was going on a trip to Scotland with Strand Celtic aour season had not started,I always like to have a Rovers Jersey with me on a trip away.As the season not started the Jersey had not been released but I asked Nicky about new Jersey,He got me 3 jerseys before release date,but I remember the day I was in the shop His staff were working damn hard on the Team Kit to have it ready for the start of the season.Just to point out he gave me a nice discount also some thing he did not have to do.Jako in my opinion is good for Rovers and its great to see jobs been created.Good Luck to Nicky & Co I say.

[Redkenrover]

Have to say I’m surprised and disappointed with the content of the statement from the club and Jako.
I don’t think anyone on this forum is making any personal attacks on Nicky or questioning his commitment to SRFC but are trying to offer constructive views on ways to help our club. I have dealt with him in the past when purchasing equipment for teams and found the quality excellent and a great service. There is no doubt Nicky has been fantastic to SRFC but I think that the Sligo area has been good to Nicky too. That’s business and he’s not running a charity I’m sure, and I hope it goes from strength to strength for him.
But does all this take away my right to comment on things happening within my club?
A couple of comments to make on the statement from Jako, firstly do we really need a club shop open 6 days a week in the showgrounds when you have Jako based in the town?
I think people would be quite happy to have a decent shop open in the Showgrounds on match days. I have purchased a number of jerseys and club merchandise over the last few years but very little from the club shop. I make a 140 mile round trip to see Rovers play at home so you can see the logistics of trying to get to Jako to buy something. I tried to buy two jerseys from the “club shop” this year but failed due to poor stock levels. This was an hour before kickoff.
Secondly what relevance to the discussion has some of the points made in the statement, i.e. donating jerseys for funerals, the fact that other clubs are ringing to buy gear, that our merchandise is cheaper that the Shams stuff?? Questioning how many other ex LOI players give contribute towards their clubs?
Its great to see the club are not changing the jersey or the crest for next season and I would like to apologise if I added to the confusion with any of my past posts, but I would like to post a copy of an email I received from the company “myteam.ie” on November 26th when I asked the question about a new crest.

“The situation with the Sligo crest is that it is being launched sometime next week. The crest was used in a teaser campaign in July August apparently and was also presented at a function in the town either this week or last week. The products that we have included in the pack carry the new crest. We are hoping to despatch any Sligo packs that have been ordered on the day of the launch. We are also distributing a leaflet to every household in Sligo town the day after the launch. This leaflet will show the new crest and will also carry a picture of the Sligo Rovers pack. I'm sorry I cant be clearer but I actually dont have any more specific information.

Are you involved in the trust? If you are It would be great if we could organise to attend a meeting and present the pack in person (So to speak!)
Feel free to post this reply on foot if you think it will help!”

Maybe someone from the club should contact them to sort this out. As of 9.45pm tonight their website is still advertising the affiliate pack for SRFC with the byline. “ New club crest coming soon. All products will feature new crest” www.myteam.ie/sligo-rovers.htm (http://www.myteam.ie/sligo-rovers.htm)
Also a friend of mine received his SRFC pack today featuring a crest nothing like our current crest, on the items. As this is a company endorsed by the FAI can someone please explain, as this contradicts the statement from the club.
Finally, most of the people on this forum know each other and I find the term “nameless bloggers” derogatory and a disgraceful comment on the clubs fans and I assume customers of Nicky. I don’t think anyone is suggesting for one minute we change kit supplier as the club seems to be well looked after by Nicky, which is not the case with other LOI clubs and their suppliers.
If anyone wants to PM me in relation to any of the above comments I will only be too happy to discuss or clarify them as I don’t feel the need to hide behind my user name.
Its also a pity that this was more negativity surrounding the club at a time when we should be on a high following the achievements of last season.

[Red&White Rover]

We are changing our crest...AFAIK...

[celticV3]

So Myteam.ie are selling the rovers package as it having a new crest and I believe that there was someone from myteam.ie saying that they were waiting for clearance on the new crest from the board to send them out?

The board however are saying that there is not a new crest and that we are keeping the same jersey for the coming season?

What is going on?

[Redkenrover]

So Myteam.ie are selling the rovers package as it having a new crest and I believe that there was someone from myteam.ie saying that they were waiting for clearance on the new crest from the board to send them out?

The board however are saying that there is not a new crest and that we are keeping the same jersey for the coming season?

What is going on?

You got it in one. Saw the merchandise first hand today and it features a crest similar to the one that was outside a filling station on one of them billboard things during the summer.
That was the reason I emailed myteam to try and stop the confusion when this was first mooted a couple of weeks ago.
It really cleared things up! :rolleyes:

[celticV3]

It does seem in retrospect easier to come to the conclusion that they may have considered changing the crest for one reason or another but it would seem from the club statement aimed at "clarifying" things that they changed their mind?

First of all myteam.ie got their idea from somewhere, the question is where? An absolute shambles really, we either are or are not getting a new crest it isn't that hard to clarify?

[red_away]

This debacle all stems from the fact that the board/PRO dont provide enuff information about the club and then every one is left to speculate on rumours, hearsay etc!

Provide more info and an online channel for well formed questions to be answered every two weeks and this would not be an issue!

For my part i dont have any issues with jako or nicky broujos!