Hummel are notorious for supply issues - Bristol City dropped them halfway through last season because of it, and they really messed Hashtag United around. I thought they'd binned their UK supplier, but nothing seems to have change. A shame, because they make some of the best kits around.
I doubt they've done the third kit because we *need* it - but it would be handy against a team who play in blue and white. As long as it makes money for the club, it's a good thing.
The suitability of kit colours is a contentious issue, but if we played against a team whose first colours were predominantly blue and white that could rule out using both our first and second choice shirts since there’s a lot of white in the second choice shirt. It makes perfect sense to have a third kit that avoids the possibility of such a clash.
To be fair to both the club and Hummel every manufacturer in the world only has finite manufacturing slots so it makes complete sense for Hummel to focus on the big orders and/or clubs.
I mean - with the best will in the world - I would be surprised if we sold more of our shirts than a premier league or championship side, even if ours is the best shirt ever designed, so on a purely business front you can understand Hummel putting our kit down the priority list. As much as we would like parity.
As for the Red kit - best of the lot for me. By quite a margin.
So, Matt Cecil has posted on Twitter that with the ending of two major partnerships (Dreams and O’Neils) and having to find new partners and wait for the original deals to expire before announcing/ordering the new Hummel Origin kits, is what’s pushed things back a bit.
Guess the realities of getting kit out to teams isn’t as simple as it seems on the outside.
What I don't get is that the club knew when these deals were going to expire. They prob knew by Easter / April that neither wanted to extend their deals so why did we have to wait until they expired to then make moves on the kit? Were we hoping for O'neils and Dreams to change their mind?
It's just like with transfers, yes, the window is shut and no players can physically move, surely having some deals lined up ready for the transfer window to open can only help the team and those players to settle into their new environment?
On the 1-year thing, the charter still says that "WWFC will endeavour to ensure that all replica strip designs shall have a minimum lifespan of two seasons. Alterations to these timeframes may arise in centenary years or due to kit manufacturers contractual licensing." So it seems to me a fair assumption that it's 2 years for this kit. If they've signed a contract for annual refreshes, then (a) they ought to amend the charter and (b) it seems really misleading to leave the charter sitting on the website like that whilst allowing people to pre-order a shirt that might arrive in October and be obsolete by May.
Maybe somebody from the supporters' trust board could clarify.
I'm fairly sure Hummel don't do two-year cycles. And it's being billed as the '23/24 kit', so I think that answers the question. The charter stopped meaning anything the moment Couhig became majority owner - not that it was ever binding anyway.
It’ll all be in the fine print and contractual details. You sign a 2 year exclusivity deal to run until a certain date I suspect that rather hand ties what you can, can’t and shouldn’t so.
Plus you have to think about the start and end of deals and not burning any bridges in the future.
Sure, we could have put agreements in place in feb, announced them in April and everyone decides at that point to put off buying any merch. The club would get a bumper sales increase in august/sept with the new supplier but that leaves both the club and and the old kit supplier with a load of almost useless merch sitting in warehouses
So there is a contractual get-out in there, @Malone, but if, as you say, they've entered a contract that will see new kits every year, then why have a charter with "endeavour ... two years" in it? You are absolutely not endeavouring to do anything of the sort in that event. So stop pretending.
You don't get to decide when your sponsors sign up, unless you want to go settle for less money, or set arbitrary deadlines and go without one. Then you have to faff around with patches on kits or tell potential sponsors they won't be on stock.
Comments
Not for me. We dont need a 3rd kit and I don't like red.
Subtle Denmark 88 vibes 😍
Hummel are notorious for supply issues - Bristol City dropped them halfway through last season because of it, and they really messed Hashtag United around. I thought they'd binned their UK supplier, but nothing seems to have change. A shame, because they make some of the best kits around.
I doubt they've done the third kit because we *need* it - but it would be handy against a team who play in blue and white. As long as it makes money for the club, it's a good thing.
86? THAT shirt anyway.
Is it quarters? Or halves?
My tired old eyes are struggling here.
Just seen a better picture on Facebook.
Definitely halves!
I like the red kit.
The suitability of kit colours is a contentious issue, but if we played against a team whose first colours were predominantly blue and white that could rule out using both our first and second choice shirts since there’s a lot of white in the second choice shirt. It makes perfect sense to have a third kit that avoids the possibility of such a clash.
What is the yellow Hummel shirt behind Blooms and Phil Catchpole in today's video?
Reading, Bristol Rovers, Wigan
Away kits should be selected with consideration for the visually impaired - ie what provides the best contrast?
Fair point, I hadn't thought of blue and white kits
Probably Goalie, Max wore yellow on Saturday as they were in Purple.
Yeah, they announced on Saturday that it was the new change GK shirt.
To be fair to both the club and Hummel every manufacturer in the world only has finite manufacturing slots so it makes complete sense for Hummel to focus on the big orders and/or clubs.
I mean - with the best will in the world - I would be surprised if we sold more of our shirts than a premier league or championship side, even if ours is the best shirt ever designed, so on a purely business front you can understand Hummel putting our kit down the priority list. As much as we would like parity.
As for the Red kit - best of the lot for me. By quite a margin.
*visually impaired and colourblind
I like the red kit. Would have looked even better with quarters instead of halves.
I imagine we will see it at Wigan, Bristol Rovers, Bolton away.
So, Matt Cecil has posted on Twitter that with the ending of two major partnerships (Dreams and O’Neils) and having to find new partners and wait for the original deals to expire before announcing/ordering the new Hummel Origin kits, is what’s pushed things back a bit.
Guess the realities of getting kit out to teams isn’t as simple as it seems on the outside.
https://twitter.com/mattcecil87/status/1687177112367554560?s=46&t=pJ2E-p39qNsXT59eq4PJJQ
What I don't get is that the club knew when these deals were going to expire. They prob knew by Easter / April that neither wanted to extend their deals so why did we have to wait until they expired to then make moves on the kit? Were we hoping for O'neils and Dreams to change their mind?
It's just like with transfers, yes, the window is shut and no players can physically move, surely having some deals lined up ready for the transfer window to open can only help the team and those players to settle into their new environment?
On the 1-year thing, the charter still says that "WWFC will endeavour to ensure that all replica strip designs shall have a minimum lifespan of two seasons. Alterations to these timeframes may arise in centenary years or due to kit manufacturers contractual licensing." So it seems to me a fair assumption that it's 2 years for this kit. If they've signed a contract for annual refreshes, then (a) they ought to amend the charter and (b) it seems really misleading to leave the charter sitting on the website like that whilst allowing people to pre-order a shirt that might arrive in October and be obsolete by May.
Maybe somebody from the supporters' trust board could clarify.
I'm fairly sure Hummel don't do two-year cycles. And it's being billed as the '23/24 kit', so I think that answers the question. The charter stopped meaning anything the moment Couhig became majority owner - not that it was ever binding anyway.
In which case you'd take it down, right?
I'd say so
It’ll all be in the fine print and contractual details. You sign a 2 year exclusivity deal to run until a certain date I suspect that rather hand ties what you can, can’t and shouldn’t so.
Plus you have to think about the start and end of deals and not burning any bridges in the future.
Sure, we could have put agreements in place in feb, announced them in April and everyone decides at that point to put off buying any merch. The club would get a bumper sales increase in august/sept with the new supplier but that leaves both the club and and the old kit supplier with a load of almost useless merch sitting in warehouses
On 3rd kits - are there any teams that don't have one? Is it a rule that all teams need to have three kits?
Surely covered in that licensing comment you mention?
It just seems very odd that we can't get stock in for this kit, yet they only work in 1 year kits. Are we going to have this delay every season then?
And are we really going to peddle 15 new kits in their 5 year deal? Or is one of the 2nd kits going to become a 3rd kit in its 2nd year?
@AlanCecil do you have answers on some of this?
So there is a contractual get-out in there, @Malone, but if, as you say, they've entered a contract that will see new kits every year, then why have a charter with "endeavour ... two years" in it? You are absolutely not endeavouring to do anything of the sort in that event. So stop pretending.
You don't get to decide when your sponsors sign up, unless you want to go settle for less money, or set arbitrary deadlines and go without one. Then you have to faff around with patches on kits or tell potential sponsors they won't be on stock.
If we got the commercial deals we wanted but that delayed delivery, I'd rather that than have no income.