O'Neills - New Kit Supplier (Confirmed)

[Lack of Action Man]

11 hours ago, Taz said:

People are still buying them.

What about the influx of fake shirts from China? I wonder if the club has a handle on this?
 

I don’t know whether these fakes were so widespread under Bristol Sport, and then Hummel. But it seems now that they’re being increasingly worn around AG due to the price difference (£15 vs £50?)

 

I have to admit I’ve struggled to differentiate the fakes, the only clues have been the badge looks a bit off, and in certain lighting the red is a different shade.

[iamalagerdrinker]

Anyone been getting lots of targeted ads across their social media? Might be getting ready for the launch

[1960maaan]

11 hours ago, Taz said:

Not done as bad financially as some people may think - and that's come from someone I know who would know!

I went to the Oxford game as we were visiting my family, and actually the number of people in attendance and walking to the ground in a new shirt of some type - whether that be home, splat, or one of the GK variations - was actually a lot more than the number I thought I would see going by the comments on here!

Do I like them - not particularly, although I did have the blue GK shirt brought for me as an early birthday present which is quite nice, although the material and fit isn't great, but my 2 year old who has the home shirt absolutely loves it and wears it as soon as it's washed.

People are still buying them.

I get the feeling some of the complaints on here about quality , are from people that haven't even handled the shirts. I've gone in and looked, they are no worse than any others and they look ok. Do I love them , no particularly , but there are plenty I haven't liked. Where the Club have fallen down is the "splat" Robin, it would make a great design for Junior Robins, but looks a real childish design IMO.

2 minutes ago, OddBallJim said:

What about the influx of fake shirts from China? I wonder if the club has a handle on this?

It would be a very small % of fans buying them, even then I doubt many of those that buy shirts from the Club shop would buy the knock offs . There may be plenty of mentions on here, and there maybe a lot more sold (relatively) , it would be a small number in reality. 

On a side note , and I doubt anyone could get the figures, I would love to know itemised shirt sales .
Home Vs Away Vs 3rd. Hummel Vs O'Neils Vs Bristol Sport . 
That would be a fascinating breakdown. 

[ExiledAjax]

1 hour ago, frenchred said:

I requested the link via the e mail as advertised prior to last game

Never had a response

Sorry to hear that. @phantom @thatcham red, any idea how to help here?

Edited September 11, 2023 by ExiledAjax

[Spike]

24 minutes ago, 1960maaan said:

It would be a very small % of fans buying them, even then I doubt many of those that buy shirts from the Club shop would buy the knock offs . There may be plenty of mentions on here, and there maybe a lot more sold (relatively) , it would be a small number in reality. 

I mean I've bought shirts straight from the shop for the last 25 years, either online or going to the gate, this is the first year I haven't and now I've even ordered a knock off one as I'm interested to see how good/bad it is. 

My reasoning is simple, O'Neills haven't made a single item of clothing so far that I've liked so I figured I'd spend £12 and get a shirt with a custom name and EFL badges and see what it's like rather than spend £60 to get one without the name and EFL badge. 

I've always figured the best way to make a statement to a football club when it comes to merch is if you don't like it, you don't buy it as the club won't make changes if they're still making good money. 

I simply do not like any O'Neills stuff, a lot of people like the Bears stuff they've done but I just think it looks very basic and poorly designed, it's my personal opinion but I think they'd have to do something really special next season to get me spending again.

[1960maaan]

50 minutes ago, Spike said:

I mean I've bought shirts straight from the shop for the last 25 years, either online or going to the gate, this is the first year I haven't and now I've even ordered a knock off one as I'm interested to see how good/bad it is. 

My reasoning is simple, O'Neills haven't made a single item of clothing so far that I've liked so I figured I'd spend £12 and get a shirt with a custom name and EFL badges and see what it's like rather than spend £60 to get one without the name and EFL badge. 

I've always figured the best way to make a statement to a football club when it comes to merch is if you don't like it, you don't buy it as the club won't make changes if they're still making good money. 

I simply do not like any O'Neills stuff, a lot of people like the Bears stuff they've done but I just think it looks very basic and poorly designed, it's my personal opinion but I think they'd have to do something really special next season to get me spending again.

Apart from the fact I haven't bought a full price shirt from the shop in 30+ years, I agree .
I've just ordered one from China for myself, as I wanted a GK shirt for my Niece , just to see what they were like. 
One thing I'll say, and I have said this before on here, I really like the black retro City Tee, but £40 is way over for me . I don't buy team shirts as £50 for something I rarely wear is never going to tempt me, though I have bought ones in sales or on ebay.  
I don't hate the O'Neil designs, but that comes down to personal taste and City would lead the way in designs. Even if they work with the company , (I guess) Jon would either offers his ideas or tell them what he wanted and sign them off. I don't like the white Bears shirt either, but I don't , and haven't liked much of their stuff since they moved in. 
I didn't like the "Arsenal" kit until we had worn it for a while, I think we have done too many retro thinking kits lately and it's time to step away from that for a while.

The long awaited Away shirt will be interesting, or next years kits, as we will still be contracted I imagine. Let's hope they use the extra time they've had well.

Edited September 11, 2023 by 1960maaan

[Spike]

12 minutes ago, 1960maaan said:

I don't hate the designs, but that comes down to personal taste and City would lead the way in designs. Even if they work with the company , (I guess) Jon would either offers his ideas or tell them what he wanted and sign them off. I don't like the white Bears shirt either, but I don't , and haven't liked much of their stuff since they moved in. 
I didn't like the "Arsenal" kit until we had worn it for a while, I think we have done too many retro thinking kits lately and it's time to step away from that for a while.

The long awaited Away shirt will be interesting, or next years kits, as we will still be contracted I imagine. Lets hope they use the extra time they've had well.

This is the part that bothers me the most, Jon seems to be the final decision man from what is posted on here but IMO I think someone who probably has never bought a football shirt with the intent of wearing it is the worst person to make that decision. I just don't understand why the club wouldn't hire someone to work with whoever they have as a supplier who has a great knowledge of football shirts, what is popular, what is not etc. I'm 42 now and I do still make football shirts but when I'm asked to design something the very first question I ask is "who are the target audience?", not "Do I like this?". I've made some personal designs that I've looked at and gone "ergh, not a fan of that!" but it worked perfectly for the target audience and that ultimately is what the club seem to be failing at.
If they aren't sure what fans want then simply engage with them, do research, find out what the fans like and what the fans don't. At this point it's fairly simple to say "cartoon-like images and fonts" are widely not preferred, the Robin splash, the Comic Sans font on the training wear that Bristol Sport delivered, they both went down like a lead balloon so straight away they could add to the briefing "no cartoon-like materials". Another one that went down awfully was hashtags on the shirt, they could have put out a poll before adding those "Would hashtags on shirts deter you from buying it?", the results come back as a resounding "No hashtags" and they save themselves from lost sales etc. I know sometimes the things like the hashtags was an idea to get ahead of other clubs and the negative reaction to them did actually get some publicity which may have helped in other ways but it still could have been avoided and saved embarrassment of fans who ended up walking around with "#MakingBristolProud" could have been avoided.

Jon needs to stop making these decisions and hand them over to someone who has experience in understanding trends within the football world when it comes to fashion and design, allow them to make a few potential designs and then if he has to be involved he chooses from those but whoever is making these decisions about putting the splash robin, hashtags or using comic sans fonts needs to be removed from the equation and someone with some experience in design should be brought in.

[phantom]

2 hours ago, frenchred said:

I requested the link via the e mail as advertised prior to last game

Never had a response

I hate to say I am not 100% sure what this relates to @frenchred

1 hour ago, ExiledAjax said:

Sorry to hear that. @phantom @thatcham red, any idea how to help here?

These are questions that you have asked that are on the agenda for Wednesdays meeting;

Reciprocal pricing with Leeds United

Memorial garden at the new sporting quarter

[1960maaan]

47 minutes ago, Spike said:

This is the part that bothers me the most, Jon seems to be the final decision man from what is posted on here but IMO I think someone who probably has never bought a football shirt with the intent of wearing it is the worst person to make that decision. I just don't understand why the club wouldn't hire someone to work with whoever they have as a supplier who has a great knowledge of football shirts, what is popular, what is not etc. I'm 42 now and I do still make football shirts but when I'm asked to design something the very first question I ask is "who are the target audience?", not "Do I like this?". I've made some personal designs that I've looked at and gone "ergh, not a fan of that!" but it worked perfectly for the target audience and that ultimately is what the club seem to be failing at.
If they aren't sure what fans want then simply engage with them, do research, find out what the fans like and what the fans don't. At this point it's fairly simple to say "cartoon-like images and fonts" are widely not preferred, the Robin splash, the Comic Sans font on the training wear that Bristol Sport delivered, they both went down like a lead balloon so straight away they could add to the briefing "no cartoon-like materials". Another one that went down awfully was hashtags on the shirt, they could have put out a poll before adding those "Would hashtags on shirts deter you from buying it?", the results come back as a resounding "No hashtags" and they save themselves from lost sales etc. I know sometimes the things like the hashtags was an idea to get ahead of other clubs and the negative reaction to them did actually get some publicity which may have helped in other ways but it still could have been avoided and saved embarrassment of fans who ended up walking around with "#MakingBristolProud" could have been avoided.

Jon needs to stop making these decisions and hand them over to someone who has experience in understanding trends within the football world when it comes to fashion and design, allow them to make a few potential designs and then if he has to be involved he chooses from those but whoever is making these decisions about putting the splash robin, hashtags or using comic sans fonts needs to be removed from the equation and someone with some experience in design should be brought in.

Agree completely , just a couple of thoughts.

47 minutes ago, Spike said:

I just don't understand why the club wouldn't hire someone to work with whoever they have as a supplier who has a great knowledge of football shirts

They haven't managed to get the shop organised since the rebuild. 
*Poor stock generally.
*Xmas jumpers with Reindeer when we have a Robin on the crest. Then not available around Christmas.
*No Xmas Decorations.
*Kit constantly late.
*Poor variety .
*High prices
*not enough impulse buy options
All things that seem obvious to me, but beyond the current set up.

52 minutes ago, Spike said:

If they aren't sure what fans want then simply engage with them

The one constant over the whole period is lack of communication from the Club, and for me this is key.
Whether firefighting or explaining , keep people in the loop to some extent and it stops all the ridiculous conspiracy theorists. If they came out and said there was a problem with the away kit, or gave a reason why it had been seemingly delayed, there wouldn't have been half the vitriol on here (or number of pages). 
I don't think Jon (or Steve come to that) are comfortable in front of a camera, then use the media Dept or send out Scotty. He would be great to pass on bad news, who would get angry with him ?

59 minutes ago, Spike said:

whoever is making these decisions about putting the splash robin, hashtags or using comic sans fonts needs to be removed from the equation and someone with some experience in design should be brought in.

I agree with this 100%.

 

[thatcham red]

@frenchred Was it a link to the meeting last Wednesday you requested? If so, apologies if you didn't receive it. Emails to info@bristolcitysupporters.org are usually dealt with very efficiently.

[frenchred]

10 minutes ago, thatcham red said:

@frenchred Was it a link to the meeting last Wednesday you requested? If so, apologies if you didn't receive it. Emails to info@bristolcitysupporters.org are usually dealt with very efficiently.

It was yeah, no worries I'll try again next meeting

[frenchred]

45 minutes ago, phantom said:

I hate to say I am not 100% sure what this relates to @frenchred

These are questions that you have asked that are on the agenda for Wednesdays meeting;

Reciprocal pricing with Leeds United

Memorial garden at the new sporting quarter

Thanks phantom, it was the link to last week's meeting I requested that all could attend but wasn't sent through

No worries now, I'll try again next month

Thanks for my questions above being incorporated

[Taz]

4 hours ago, OddBallJim said:

What about the influx of fake shirts from China? I wonder if the club has a handle on this?
 

I don’t know whether these fakes were so widespread under Bristol Sport, and then Hummel. But it seems now that they’re being increasingly worn around AG due to the price difference (£15 vs £50?)

 

I have to admit I’ve struggled to differentiate the fakes, the only clues have been the badge looks a bit off, and in certain lighting the red is a different shade.

No idea, but there are so many out there from various clubs throughout the world, that I would be amazed if you were ever able to get a grip on it.

The actual sales figures however, directly from someone in the know at the club, are very positive though.

[JackMarch]

22 hours ago, steviestevieneville said:

I’ve just bought a castore England cricket polo shirt . No branding on it apart from the England badge . The quality is brilliant , really comfortable . I know you were joking but it’s a million times better than anything oneils make . 

I have a McLaren F1 teamwear polo as well and the quality is brilliant, far better than O’Neills

[SecretSam]

I wonder if we can get to 100 pages before the away kit is launched?

[sticks 1969]

Just ordered the black goal keeper full kit from a guy of facebook for a nephew 

£27 for full kit delivered to my door cash on delivery 

[BasSavage88]

43 minutes ago, sticks 1969 said:

Just ordered the black goal keeper full kit from a guy of facebook for a nephew 

£27 for full kit delivered to my door cash on delivery 

He will be buying it for 12 quid as we speak 

Edited September 11, 2023 by BasSavage88

[MarcusX]

3 hours ago, sticks 1969 said:

Just ordered the black goal keeper full kit from a guy of facebook for a nephew 

£27 for full kit delivered to my door cash on delivery 

We don’t have a black GK kit this season? Or is this a whoosh 

[BasSavage88]

2 hours ago, MarcusX said:

We don’t have a black GK kit this season? Or is this a whoosh 

We have a black a blue and a pink

[elhombrecito]

13 hours ago, JackMarch said:

I have a McLaren F1 teamwear polo as well and the quality is brilliant, far better than O’Neills

I should hope so, for the prices they charge.

[JackMarch]

6 hours ago, elhombrecito said:

I should hope so, for the prices they charge.

Got it in the sale towards the end of last season for £15 direct from Castore!

[SecretSam]

22 hours ago, JackMarch said:

I have a McLaren F1 teamwear polo as well and the quality is brilliant, far better than O’Neills

Is that one of those shirts which is basically a billboard? Never understood the appeal.

[MarcusX]

19 hours ago, BasSavage88 said:

We have a black a blue and a pink

Oh wow yes the multi coloured one, forgot about that!

[Spike]

Well, my home shirt from China turned up, for the price I paid I cannot complain at all. I do hate that the money hasn't gone to the club but until they change from O'Neills or deliver something worth the sky-high prices they are asking for I'll stick with what I have. 

[Ashton Yate]

15 hours ago, Spike said:

Well, my home shirt from China turned up, for the price I paid I cannot complain at all. I do hate that the money hasn't gone to the club but until they change from O'Neills or deliver something worth the sky-high prices they are asking for I'll stick with what I have. 

Mine arrived yesterday and not so impressed. The collar and sleeves are the same material as the rest of the shirt, rather than elastic, so fairly obvious that it's a copy. Dunno if I just got a bad batch though? Very tight too, so need to order a few sizes up I reckon. GK shirt was much better though (although still tight).

[Rocky]

Some of the China shirts are incredible, an absolute mirror of the real thing.  Lets face it, they could be made by the same factory as the real deal.

The Nike and Adidas prem shirts retail £90+ but exact copies are £14-£15 with all the badges and a few weeks to wait for delivery.  I couldn't believe City are an option 

 

 

[ChippenhamRed]

Back into the new grassroots season now so I'm spending a lot of my time on the touchline at training and matches again, as I'm sure are plenty of other parents here.

Seeing kids wearing our O'Neil kits alongside other kids (sadly) wearing their Premier League tops really highlights just how crap it is. The fit is terrible and they just look like the bought them in a market on holiday in Spain. My son's team wears Puma and their training wear and kit is infinitely superior to City's stuff.

[BasSavage88]

1 hour ago, ChippenhamRed said:

Back into the new grassroots season now so I'm spending a lot of my time on the touchline at training and matches again, as I'm sure are plenty of other parents here.

Seeing kids wearing our O'Neil kits alongside other kids (sadly) wearing their Premier League tops really highlights just how crap it is. The fit is terrible and they just look like the bought them in a market on holiday in Spain. My son's team wears Puma and their training wear and kit is infinitely superior to City's stuff.

Yep, its all baggy and terribly ill fitting

[Selred]

1 hour ago, ChippenhamRed said:

My son's team wears Puma and their training wear and kit is infinitely superior to City's stuff.

Why doesn't your son support the City? 

[BCFCGav]

Just re-read the kit update from early August, I remembered it as reading the away kit was due 'early September' (which is a bit more ambiguous and gives some leeway) but it actually stated it'd be 'delivered at the beginning of September'. So they have simply missed a self-reported deadline by 13 days, a deadline you'd imagine they added a bit of padding to in case of problems. I'd be so fascinated to hear the tale of this kits development and (eventual) release, it does not feel like it has run smoothly 

Shoulda ****** the whole thing off and just promoted the yellow kit to away kit for the season. Odds of an opponent kit clashing with our yellow and red kits are so low.