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New Kit Launched


so72

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Proper kit manufacturers won't be offering us anything more than a straight from the catalogue shanner of an effort. It's good to have a classic home top instead of the trying way too hard efforts in recent years and if it's the same quality as the Argentina-style retro one then I'll have no complaints.

I am glad that we are spared another of Pedrodelawasp's efforts from a kids colouring competition, but there are firms out there who specialise in making kits for SME Football clubs like ourselves and some of the off the peg catalogue efforts would spare us the embarrassment of having EST.1874 instead of a reputable kit manufacturer.

*insert signature here*

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I am glad that we are spared another of Pedrodelawasp's efforts from a kids colouring competition, but there are firms out there who specialise in making kits for SME Football clubs like ourselves and some of the off the peg catalogue efforts would spare us the embarrassment of having EST.1874 instead of a reputable kit manufacturer.

Think his crayons helped designed it, just without having to kill the dreams of children in the process.

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Think his crayons helped designed it, just without having to kill the dreams of children in the process.

Myself and Gavin were invited to submit concepts last September then got together with the manufacturer, MacKinnon and Keith from Smiths to go through these and combine elements to make up the final design.

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It’s also been discussed at meetings that this approach is more cost effective in terms of the team wear and merchandise than the previous setup using Puma and Nike catalogue items. Neither of those manufacturers sell directly to clubs outside of their high ticket customers, instead selling licenses to smaller firms to produce their team wear selections. Clubs then choose from the catalogue and pay per item for customisation.

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It’s also been discussed at meetings that this approach is more cost effective in terms of the team wear and merchandise than the previous setup using Puma and Nike catalogue items. Neither of those manufacturers sell directly to clubs outside of their high ticket customers, instead selling licenses to smaller firms to produce their team wear selections. Clubs then choose from the catalogue and pay per item for customisation.

Yet almost every other team in Scotland orders from a team wear company and gets a decent manufacturer.

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Yet almost every other team in Scotland orders from a team wear company and gets a decent manufacturer.

And most have an off the shelf design. If we get our own bespoke kits and the quality is decent I don't see the problem.

 

The design competitions have probably run their course but resulted in increased sales and good fan engagement. If the supplier used is now working closely with the club and there's a decent profit margin then why change for the sake of a brand name being on a top? Its not like fans of other teams will be buying them from a Nike shop or something.

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And most have an off the shelf design. If we get our own bespoke kits and the quality is decent I don't see the problem.

 

The design competitions have probably run their course but resulted in increased sales and good fan engagement. If the supplier used is now working closely with the club and there's a decent profit margin then why change for the sake of a brand name being on a top? Its not like fans of other teams will be buying them from a Nike shop or something.

Aye, pretty much agree with this, and vT’s point about the 95/96 retro top is also valid. No complaints about that at all. I suppose most of us are a bit older and having a Nike swoosh on the kit isn’t that much of an issue- it might be worth asking younger fans their opinions on it though.

 

The Puma gear, whilst off the shelf, was okay, with the exception of the last home kit, which was a bit shit. One of only two Morton tops I haven’t bought in the last 25 years or so. The quality of the Nike gear, and the iron-on badges, was basically a show of the contempt that Donaldson showed for the paying punters. Basically if you stick a Morton badge on something these mugs’ll cough up.

 

The current suppliers Vision, whilst relatively unknown have also been better than Vandanel or Bukta ever were, too. Wasn’t really a fan of the last home shirt, but it was the winner of a fans’ vote, so a bit harsh to hammer them for giving folk what they want.

 

I should mention that MacKinnon said to me when we met after the Twitter fiasco that they’re paying a pound more per unit for the kits now than previously, as Hawke (whom he didn’t mention by name) didn’t see the value in that. His point was that he reckons they’re as well giving us a superior product in the hope that it sells more. Obviously a while has passed since then, and that may no longer be the case, but if it is, I’d hope he’s public about that instead of keeping it between a couple of guys in a private meeting.

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Yet almost every other team in Scotland orders from a team wear company and gets a decent manufacturer.

I’m sure it will suit many teams to go that route. If they can expect a higher volume of sales their outlay on stock will be larger and the unit price reduced (e.g. Aberdeen and Hearts purchasing Adidas kits). Joma and Macron have expanded their client base in Scotland offering standard template kits for the most part, as well as a handful given an element of customisation (Motherwell, Hibs and Ross County spring to mind).

 

Morton’s current approach came about after a Nike catalogue number (and a poor choice of sponsor from the Golden Casket group) was resoundingly turned on by the support. The four subsequent kits have sold in greater numbers than any of the previous offerings for over 15 years (I have to say this is anecdotal, I can’t give any detailed sales figures).

 

I’m thick skinned enough to hear criticism of the designs I’ve been involved with. I’m not the manufacturer so any complaints over the relative quality, finish, etc. aren’t for me to answer or comment on. If anybody believes that fans shouldn’t be involved in the design process (or me as an individual for that matter) then I would encourage them to forward their issues to the club.

 

From my perspective, I’m both a fan of the club and what you could describe as a keen graphic design hobbyist with (very) occasional paid commissions in the field, though not from Morton. I’ve enjoyed contributing and seeing the team and supporters wearing the designs I’ve worked on. The latest away kit didn’t turn out quite how I had hoped, with changes made to simplify and reduce manufacturing cost, though I do like the fit and feel of it, particularly with the introduction of the ribbed collar and cuffs.

 

I really like how this kit looks in the renders and am absolutely behind Gavin’s contributions (plus he’s one of the nicest guys you could ever wish to meet).

 

TLDR? No worries.

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Im all for going down the route of in-house design and local (ish) manufacture if it means we dont get a run of the mill, sunday league effort for a strip.

 

The nike tops were barkin'.

 

Also, if the profit margin is increased then happy days. 

TIME FOR CHANGE!

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Im all for going down the route of in-house design and local (ish) manufacture if it means we dont get a run of the mill, sunday league effort for a strip.

 

The nike tops were barkin'.

 

Also, if the profit margin is increased then happy days.

It seems like a decent company to work with too. They donated kits to fans games and the youth teams as far as I know.

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Nothing wrong with the 1874 thing as a concept, but the branding on strips etc has always just looked dodgy so far. The new logo looks like something from a weans toy, to be honest.

 

I’d like to hope that the training range can improve and that we can get some custom stuff on that front via the current manufacturers though. The 1874 branding could work really with that if it was done properly.

AWMSC

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  • 1 month later...
On 6/4/2020 at 1:44 AM, capitanus said:

I am glad that we are spared another of Pedrodelawasp's efforts from a kids colouring competition, but there are firms out there who specialise in making kits for SME Football clubs like ourselves and some of the off the peg catalogue efforts would spare us the embarrassment of having EST.1874 instead of a reputable kit manufacturer.

This is exactly the niche in the market that Vision are trying to fill. If we can't get a Joma* or Macron deal of our own, we can at least get a decent quality bespoke kit and we get to choose what 'manufacturer logo' goes on it (if any). 

*Speaking of Joma (who are mentioned elsewhere in the thread), Andrew Barrowman is their Senior Brand Manager for Scotland and did speak to Warren Hawke about their offering a couple of years ago (but it didn't go anywhere). The option for bespoke home and away with Joma seems to be available but maybe the price per shirt is higher than we're getting at the moment. Quality is always really good in any Joma gear I've seen.

 

What Carew can do with a ball, I can do with an orange

 

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1 hour ago, hayfever said:

This is exactly the niche in the market that Vision are trying to fill. If we can't get a Joma* or Macron deal of our own, we can at least get a decent quality bespoke kit and we get to choose what 'manufacturer logo' goes on it (if any). 

*Speaking of Joma (who are mentioned elsewhere in the thread), Andrew Barrowman is their Senior Brand Manager for Scotland and did speak to Warren Hawke about their offering a couple of years ago (but it didn't go anywhere). The option for bespoke home and away with Joma seems to be available but maybe the price per shirt is higher than we're getting at the moment. Quality is always really good in any Joma gear I've seen.

Joma provide the community trust training gear, not seen it in the flesh but it doesn't look anything more special than what we're getting from Vision

here today, gone to hell

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1 hour ago, hayfever said:

This is exactly the niche in the market that Vision are trying to fill. If we can't get a Joma* or Macron deal of our own, we can at least get a decent quality bespoke kit and we get to choose what 'manufacturer logo' goes on it (if any). 

*Speaking of Joma (who are mentioned elsewhere in the thread), Andrew Barrowman is their Senior Brand Manager for Scotland and did speak to Warren Hawke about their offering a couple of years ago (but it didn't go anywhere). The option for bespoke home and away with Joma seems to be available but maybe the price per shirt is higher than we're getting at the moment. Quality is always really good in any Joma gear I've seen.

I played for a team that had Joma kits and they were pretty poor. Only lasted a season. 

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2 hours ago, bob_the_builder said:

Joma provide the community trust training gear, not seen it in the flesh but it doesn't look anything more special than what we're getting from Vision

 

2 hours ago, bob_the_builder said:

Joma provide the community trust training gear, not seen it in the flesh but it doesn't look anything more special than what we're getting from Vision

 

I've had the opposite experience but they offer a couple of different  teamwear catalogues, so the quality might be different when you're a not on a 'pro' team contract.

Same with Macron, the affordable stuff is very cheap looking and you need to really pay to get the decent training and team wear (and wear at least two sizes bigger to get in the replica shirt)

 

What Carew can do with a ball, I can do with an orange

 

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