Following Clifford’s fascinating interview last week (its here) we wanted to go to the next part of the story, of course that had to be the superstore. Ruth runs the superstore for us so we asked her a few questions on this week’s behind the seams to find out what happens after the design is picked.
So Ruth, where does it start when we are getting a new kit?
In February I meet with Kukri management / design team to discuss what the requirements are for the following season. Clifford, the main designer, who in my opinion is also a genius comes up with the designs, between us we then may have to make some minor changes such as badges and colours on trims etc. Sam Robinson also had quite a few phone calls throughout this phase, I think he threatened to change his phone number by the end!
Initially there we up to 20 different designs, Clifford, Graeme Jenkins and I went through the designs and picked the 5 we thought would be the most popular. The 5 kit choices then went to the GFC Board of Directors for approval.
The designs were then released on Glentoran.com, Facebook, Twitter and in the Superstore for fans to vote on their favorite design.
Work then commenced on getting the playing kits and training gear ordered for the 1sts, 2nds and Colts. I have to ensure that I keep within the budget of the sponsorship deal with our kit supplier Kukri.
Allowances have to be considered for changes within the team etc (i.e if a player leaves the club and he was size large there’s a possibility that the new player coming in could be medium). It doesn’t sound like a big deal, but if I get it wrong, it’s my neck on the line!!
I also try to keep in contact with Mr Paul McLean, our main club Sponsor, he has to be happy with his logo on the front of the shirts before production.
Once I’m happy with the order, its sent to Kukri, where it’s uploaded onto their ordering system. Before the final processing, I have to double check and confirm because once the order goes into production, there is no going back. At this stage I am then advised of an expected delivery date.
Once all this is done for the team I then have to start going over the same process for the superstore. You would think that having ordered stock for the Superstore for the last 9 years it would be easy, yes I think I’ve got the knack of it but it still requires a lot of hours getting it right. I do refer to previous years stock orders to see what sells and what doesn’t. If things don’t sell well then there is no point in ordering it in. Supporters need to understand that some items are not financially viable to stock in the shop, e.g. 2012/13 season, I was asked to order in the white polo shirt that Eddie Patterson was seen wearing. I ordered them in and they didn’t sell well.
This season, I was also asked to process orders for the Academy. Ive been working with William Cameron aka “Kaiser” re sizing etc for the boys and so far so good…..
What happens on the day of the launch?
I lose my patience and my marbles!!!!
Normal circumstances the kit may arrive a day or 2 before the launch. I have to go through every single item and check that the quantity ordered has been delivered and liaise with Kurki re discrepancies if any. Kurki items are not bar-coded so 2 seasons ago I purchased a bar-code system for the till. I have to manually enter approx 700-1000 individual bar-codes for each item in each size.
Normally I hold back announcing the “Kit Launch” date until I actually have the product in the Superstore. This year I am taking my life into my hands……… The Kit and training gear is due for delivery on Friday 19th July - the kit launch is at 6:30 the same night !!!
Why was last years kit launch earlier than this years?
1st team kits and training gear are AWLAYS my 1st priority
Last year the kit was launched on the 11th of July night. We didn’t have an Irish Cup Final and didn’t qualify for Europe, so I was able to work on ordering kit around Middle of March.
This year, Clifford had more designs to produce and I had 3 times the amount of work to do to ensure the team had kits etc. for Irish Cup final and in time for Europe.
The team kit and training gear arrived last Monday (1st July), and had to be sorted for them traveling to Iceland on Tuesday.
So, in effect, the work I done this May I was able to do last March.
Do you think you have enough stock, especially with a return to a green home shirt?
Hopefully! But I’m currently getting the second order ready.
On a similar note supporters this season will be able to purchase training and leisurewear almost identical to the team.
How many hours a week would you say you give to Glentoran?
That’s a tough one, I would say between 25 and 30 hours a week. I have to mention at this stage, that without Brian, I would be lost, he is a rock… and I rely heavily on him to keep me going.
We went through a rocky period a couple of seasons ago, but hard work and perseverance ensured that our Superstore was kept open. Last season I took over full running of the shop (assisted by Brian and Kevin Milhench). ALL profits made in the Superstore throughout the season go back to Glentoran FC. It’s like having another full time job, but without the wage…. But I do it because I love the Glens.
A lot of supporters / friends who see me week in and week out know the amount of work I put in and how I like things done right – my personal motto would have to be “if a job is worth doing, DO IT RIGHT”. I am a perfectionist …. I am proud of what I do to help Glentoran FC. I don’t want praise or anything like that because as far as I’m concerned, when I see “my boys” go out for the first time in their new gear I look on with pride and quietly think to myself, I played a small part of the team “off the pitch”.
Some people want to know about the fitting of the kits, are they the same as before or bigger / smaller?
I imagine the home shirt will be the same fitting as last season’s shirts
Sublimation is a completely different process to “Cut and sew” The 130th Anniversary and Irish Cup final shirts were sublimated , therefore people who were “on the ball” excuse the pun and were wise enough to order either of these shirts found them to be a slightly smaller fit than the normal kits produced for league.
Can you reveal the full outcome of the kit vote?
I don’t have the numbers to hand but I do know that it was a very close vote between kit 4 and kit 5. Kit 4 won easily with the online vote, but I counted over 1200 paper votes. When totaled together Kit 4 only won by a small margin.
When we got through to the Irish Cup Final we only had 2 weeks to get a kit produced. I don’t know who was ready for the hills first, Clifford, Sam or me!! (Probably Clifford and Sam, because with the pressures of getting the design right, the sublimating process and me on the phone every minute…) We thought The Irish Cup Final kit should be the White Kit 3 design which by the way came 3rd in the vote. (The last time we won the league we wore white, the 2013 Irish Cup was won in a white kit so Ive told quite a few people not to complain if we ever get a white home kit again!)
And for the last question, what kit got your vote?
I think all the kits in this year vote were great looking and would have been more than fitting as this year’s home kit but personally I preferred kit 5.
Kit 4 got the vote, Kit 3 was used for Irish cup, so I got my way by choosing Kit 5 as Elliott’s Testimonial Kit which will be worn on Saturday 20th July.
Elliott’s shirts were delivered to me last week and I must say, they are absolutely GORGEOUS.
Thank you very much to Ruth for doing the interview and all while she was very busy with the cleanup of the oval and the new kit coming.
Hopefully on next weeks behind the seams we will be able to being you the full range and pricing of the training gear / leisurewear. That’s if I can get an appointment with Ruth within the next week…….
Thanks for reading and make sure to check back for part 3!
Remember to like the superstore on facebook and join the kit launch event!