ExiledAjax Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 Does Bristol City (or Bristol Sport) have a shop in the Cabot Centre? Posting about West Ham's season ticket shop in the Stratford Westfield made me wonder if we have anything similar. I know plenty of other clubs (Man City, Saints, Boro, Everton, Stoke, Wigan etc) have club shops in their relevant town centre in addition to the shops at the stadium. It seems to me a really easy way to increase the profile of the club in a part of the city that almost the entire population will visit at some point in the year (can't be said for Ashton Gate I don't think). When people are talking about filling a 27'000 seat stadium surely we should be looking at all these options. Does anyone know if Bristol Sport have already considered it? Was it blocked? Before you ask I've not lived in Bristol for years and I barely ever return. When I do return I see Temple Meads station, the back seat of a taxi, and Ashton Gate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRISTOL86 Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 I know there used to be a little store somewhere in town, this was years back when we had the horrible 'champagne' TFG kit...not sure if it's still there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmersonsKev Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 30 minutes ago, ExiledAjax said: Does Bristol City (or Bristol Sport) have a shop in the Cabot Centre? Posting about West Ham's season ticket shop in the Stratford Westfield made me wonder if we have anything similar. I know plenty of other clubs (Man City, Saints, Boro, Everton, Stoke, Wigan etc) have club shops in their relevant town centre in addition to the shops at the stadium. It seems to me a really easy way to increase the profile of the club in a part of the city that almost the entire population will visit at some point in the year (can't be said for Ashton Gate I don't think). When people are talking about filling a 27'000 seat stadium surely we should be looking at all these options. Does anyone know if Bristol Sport have already considered it? Was it blocked? Before you ask I've not lived in Bristol for years and I barely ever return. When I do return I see Temple Meads station, the back seat of a taxi, and Ashton Gate. In principle I agree with the idea, I remember City and Rugby having shops in centre in time gone by. Nothing now. However i dread to think what the rents are in Cabot and equally the length of tenancy you'd be asked to sign so guess money talks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledAjax Posted May 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 4 minutes ago, EmersonsKev said: In principle I agree with the idea, I remember City and Rugby having shops in centre in time gone by. Nothing now. However i dread to think what the rents are in Cabot and equally the length of tenancy you'd be asked to sign so guess money talks. The rent may not be all that much. I've seen rents for similar developments and for office space in some of London's big skyscrapers. It's more important to them that the place is full (which I think Cabot is?). You'd probably get at least the first year rent free and then it really might not be that much afterwards. I'm sure someone could correct me on this though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin phantom Posted May 10, 2016 Admin Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 The bigger issue is whether the passing shopping trade would actually use the place Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 Do any of the sports shops around sell City stuff? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledAjax Posted May 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 1 minute ago, phantom said: The bigger issue is whether the passing shopping trade would actually use the place I get that. But for me it would be more about raising the profile of the club in the city. Establishing it in people's minds as THE football club in the city. Wouldn't need to be a massive store, just a prominent frontage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bar BS3 Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 2 minutes ago, ExiledAjax said: I get that. But for me it would be more about raising the profile of the club in the city. Establishing it in people's minds as THE football club in the city. Wouldn't need to be a massive store, just a prominent frontage. Do you know how much companies pay for prime frontage retail location..? I think we benefit enough from regular free press (not always good) that most people who are ever likely to be interested in us as a non Prem team know who/where we are. The town centre shop that we used to have did very little trade I believe. I would always buy my shirt/merchandise from the stadium shop rather than some random retail outlet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CotswoldRed Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 Can't imagine it would be cost-effective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Cyril Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 They used to have a City shop in the indoor centre in broadmead next to WHSmith. It didn't do much trade but the final nail in the coffin was when some poster on here kicked off in there big time when they didn't have any yellow goalie socks. It was carnage and it closed the next day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyderInACan Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 I'd have thought a unit in the Galleries would be cheap as chips really. One of those things that they should try for a year and if it doesn't work, it closes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvio Dante Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 A ground floor unit in the Galleries would cost about £55,000 rent pa for the size the club would probably want. Smaller units about £25,000. This excludes rates and any other obligations, fit out costs etc. You may get rent free for 12 months, but that generally means a higher commitment in years 2-5 (can't just walk away!). If you add in staff costs for 2 staff minimum, the shop would be a £100-£150k p/a commitment minimum. Or 3500 more shirts each year. Maybe in the premier, unlikely in the championship.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negan Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 3 minutes ago, NeilS said: But it would also get the message out there to the kids, there could be other promotions, meet the players etc. Probably would be worth it in the long run, not as if we have to show a profit, but the hidden advantages could be well worth it. If there isn't a financial profit to be made the club won't do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ciderbeans Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 The sags have their own club shop on staple hill. If they can do it, surely we can only do better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aller g Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 We had "Bristol sport" on Penn street (where Harvey nicks is now) in around 2005. City owned but sold rugby and a small amount of rovers. Before then "massive" on merchant street (where the gym is now) back in ze 90's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slartibartfast Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 13 minutes ago, ciderbeans said: The sags have their own club shop on staple hill. If they can do it, surely we can only do better? Kingswood, NOT Staple Hill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid in the Riot Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 The new shop at the ground is so underwhelming and small, I do wonder if there is a long-term plan to have a Bristol Sport store in the centre of town. If this isn't a long-term aim then it certainly should be. Absolutely agree it would be great to have a presence in town and with a Premiership rugby club, Championship football, basketball etc you'd have thought it could be workable even if only a small unit. Could sell match tickets as well as merchandise. Rents on premises are mental these days though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvio Dante Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 27 minutes ago, Kid in the Riot said: The new shop at the ground is so underwhelming and small, I do wonder if there is a long-term plan to have a Bristol Sport store in the centre of town. If this isn't a long-term aim then it certainly should be. Absolutely agree it would be great to have a presence in town and with a Premiership rugby club, Championship football, basketball etc you'd have thought it could be workable even if only a small unit. Could sell match tickets as well as merchandise. Rents on premises are mental these days though. As ever with these things it's about location and cost. Rovers shop in kingswood is just like us having one in say, Nailsea, and probably isn't worthwhile. I agree that if you get one, it has to be central Bristol to get the "floating" fans but that means cost. Cabot is out due to that so you're probably looking at what would be called "secondary" - park street, the less desirable parts of the Galleries. To be clear, it should be a long term aim of the club as it makes perfect merchandise/profile sense as long as it's the right cost/size/location. You can get a unit on the galleries 2nd floor (opposite the food court) for £25k p/a but its probably too small. (The nature of a multi sport unit is extra stock and bigger unit). If the club/bs are to do it as a loss leader, I'd get a bigger unit as this allows for the "events" to happen and makes it feel like a shop and not just a small stand. Just don't see it being on radar for a while at least... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Skin Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 Personally, I think most people in the city know about Rovers and City so unless it pays for itself in merch then I can see little value. Better to offer cheap ticket deals and advertise these locally either on radio or on advertising hoardings around the city. (I like City's use of these of late). The best way to get new supporters is for them to experience a game. Once they are hooked and have some affinity with the club they are more likely to buy a shirt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laner Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 6 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said: As ever with these things it's about location and cost. Rovers shop in kingswood is just like us having one in say, Nailsea, and probably isn't worthwhile. I agree that if you get one, it has to be central Bristol to get the "floating" fans but that means cost. Cabot is out due to that so you're probably looking at what would be called "secondary" - park street, the less desirable parts of the Galleries. To be clear, it should be a long term aim of the club as it makes perfect merchandise/profile sense as long as it's the right cost/size/location. You can get a unit on the galleries 2nd floor (opposite the food court) for £25k p/a but its probably too small. (The nature of a multi sport unit is extra stock and bigger unit). If the club/bs are to do it as a loss leader, I'd get a bigger unit as this allows for the "events" to happen and makes it feel like a shop and not just a small stand. Just don't see it being on radar for a while at least... It's just a guess but I wonder if Rovers opened their store in Kingswood at a time when their "home" ground was in a different city? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM91 Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 This has been done a couple of times and unfortunately both times has failed (including one which included Bristol rovers stuff) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvio Dante Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 4 minutes ago, NeilS said: Silvio I think you should oversee this exciting new venture, I would, but alas too long in the tooth. Alas, I'm not sure I have the right "DNA".... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChippenhamRed Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 I know House of Fraser in Cabot used to have a few racks of City gear, not sure if they still do? I like the idea of a shop in principle - for brand awareness and promotion as much as anything - but in the online age it's very difficult to justify the running costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRISTOL86 Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 1 hour ago, Silvio Dante said: A ground floor unit in the Galleries would cost about £55,000 rent pa for the size the club would probably want. Smaller units about £25,000. This excludes rates and any other obligations, fit out costs etc. You may get rent free for 12 months, but that generally means a higher commitment in years 2-5 (can't just walk away!). If you add in staff costs for 2 staff minimum, the shop would be a £100-£150k p/a commitment minimum. Or 3500 more shirts each year. Maybe in the premier, unlikely in the championship.... If you can convince a casual to buy a season ticket there it would be more than viable. Say £150k p/a to run, that's only c. 500 season tickets required to break even. Equivalent to roughly 5 sales per day throughout May-Jun, and that's before the sale of any merchandise throughout the rest of the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snufflelufagus Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 We do have another shop. A online one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cider-manc Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 1 hour ago, Kid in the Riot said: The new shop at the ground is so underwhelming and small, I do wonder if there is a long-term plan to have a Bristol Sport store in the centre of town. If this isn't a long-term aim then it certainly should be. Absolutely agree it would be great to have a presence in town and with a Premiership rugby club, Championship football, basketball etc you'd have thought it could be workable even if only a small unit. Could sell match tickets as well as merchandise. Rents on premises are mental these days though. This is the biggy to me. Customers should be able to purchase and collect tickets if a Bristol Sport shop opened. I think people would still be surprised by the amount of people who are put off purchasing tickets by the fact they have to go to the ground if they want to purchase in person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChippenhamRed Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 9 minutes ago, cider-manc said: This is the biggy to me. Customers should be able to purchase and collect tickets if a Bristol Sport shop opened. I think people would still be surprised by the amount of people who are put off purchasing tickets by the fact they have to go to the ground if they want to purchase in person. I would be surprised. Why would anyone insist on buying in person? It's 2016, the Internet age. I can sit on my sofa in my pants and order tickets in about 2 minutes. I doubt there would be very many additional ticket sales at all via a shop in town. Match tickets are not an impulse purchase and no-one would go into central Bristol specifically to buy tickets when you can do it online or over the phone. The world has moved on and the club quite literally cannot afford to cater for a tiny minority who won't use a computer or pick up a phone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid in the Riot Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 28 minutes ago, ChippenhamRed said: I would be surprised. Why would anyone insist on buying in person? It's 2016, the Internet age. I can sit on my sofa in my pants and order tickets in about 2 minutes. I doubt there would be very many additional ticket sales at all via a shop in town. Match tickets are not an impulse purchase and no-one would go into central Bristol specifically to buy tickets when you can do it online or over the phone. The world has moved on and the club quite literally cannot afford to cater for a tiny minority who won't use a computer or pick up a phone! Having a shop in town with well-trained staff able to sell match tickets would be a hugely beneficial service to have over faceless internet service and at best dodgy phone service. Sorry, I mean to complement those existing services. Bristol Ticket Shop survives and that's against the competition of the likes of Ticketmaster and See Tickets. I still purchase gig tickets in their shop from time to time if I am in town. I remember going to Valencia and purchasing match tickets from their club shop (thinking about it most football clubs in big cities have club shops in city centre locations). They had a model of the Mestalla in the middle of the shop and with staff not speaking great English you simply pointed to the part of the stadium you wanted a ticket. I don't think it should be seen as 'one or the other' but as a complementary service. Could even be inventive and have a little coffee bar or something in there to keep the turnover ticking over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cider-manc Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 27 minutes ago, ChippenhamRed said: I would be surprised. Why would anyone insist on buying in person? It's 2016, the Internet age. I can sit on my sofa in my pants and order tickets in about 2 minutes. I doubt there would be very many additional ticket sales at all via a shop in town. Match tickets are not an impulse purchase and no-one would go into central Bristol specifically to buy tickets when you can do it online or over the phone. The world has moved on and the club quite literally cannot afford to cater for a tiny minority who won't use a computer or pick up a phone! Are they not? Maybe not for those of us who already attend regularly but we are hopefully looking to convince others to come and join us and fill our brand new stands. If the shop is there selling shirts etc then it should sell tickets. I'm not saying that we should set up a box office specifically to sell tickets. We are a large city with people from all walks of life. Just because you like to order from your sofa in your pants doesn't mean that everyone feels the same or lives in the same circumstances. Manchester City has a shop on Market street (Manchester's main high street) and I know plenty of people who use it for tickets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChippenhamRed Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 3 minutes ago, Kid in the Riot said: Having a shop in town with well-trained staff able to sell match tickets would be a hugely beneficial service to have over faceless internet service and at best dodgy phone service. Sorry, I mean to complement those existing services. Bristol Ticket Shop survives and that's against the competition of the likes of Ticketmaster and See Tickets. I still purchase gig tickets in their shop from time to time if I am in town. I remember going to Valencia and purchasing match tickets from their club shop (thinking about it most football clubs in big cities have club shops in city centre locations). They had a model of the Mestalla in the middle of the shop and with staff not speaking great English you simply pointed to the part of the stadium you wanted a ticket. I don't think it should be seen as 'one or the other' but as a complementary service. Could even be inventive and have a little coffee bar or something in there to keep the turnover ticking over. I like the idea, I really do. I just question the economic viability. Bristol Ticket Shop is (presumably) selling a broad range of tickets to various events. Selling tickets for a number of football, rugby and basketball matches is a more limited scope, especially when the online and telephone options are so ingrained as the norm. I do like the idea though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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