Sarah Guilfoyle says Latics will have more creative input in their next kit supplier dealplaceholder image
Sarah Guilfoyle says Latics will have more creative input in their next kit supplier deal
Wigan Athletic will have a new replica shirt supplier from next season with the current deal with Puma coming to an end.
Managing director Sarah Guilfoyle says the new contract - with an as yet unnamed company - will be 'one of the biggest deals we've done in a very long time...certainly outside the Premier League'.
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She also revealed it will be with a 'lot more local' company, which will allow the kits to 'represent Wigan' better.
"I know the kit is a very, very important part of the supporter journey," she said. "And it is one of the most divisive topics I think we can talk about.
"We've been with Puma for quite a long time now, and the decision has been taken to move away from that.
"Puma have been a really good supplier for us, and a really good supporter of the club, we've been really happy with what we've had, and we do thank them for their support over the years.
"But it is time for us to move in a new direction, and we've chosen to do something a little bit different.
"They are a mainstream brand, but they offer us something that we've not been able to have before. In terms of the financials, my job is obviously to look after the business side of the club, and the deal represents one of the biggest deals we've done in a very long time...certainly outside the Premier League.
"They're a really good supplier, good to work with, and a lot more local - which is really good. Some of the aspects really show they have their roots in and around Wigan.
"For us, one of the biggest things about the deal has been to have everything bespoke. Currently, although we do get a little bit of choice, we have a lot of 'catalogue items'.
"I'm sick of seeing us in the same tracksuits as every other club, and seeing Sam Tickle in the same goalkeeping kit as his opposite number every single week.
"So we have complete design control, from the replica kit, to training wear, to goalkeeping kit...and even little minute details like having buttons on shirts, and being able to design the text on them."
"It's something so unique, and it really allows us to put our stamp on it, and really let the kits we have for the next couple of years represent Wigan.
"Commercially, it also allows us to do a lot more. With Puma, for example, the minimum order quantity was quite high. So it means we have to carry a lot of stock.
"At the beginning of the season, we have to guess how many shirts we're going to sell, which unfortunately means sometimes we have some excess stock.
“With the company supplier we're going to move to, the quantity levels are a lot lower, so it allows us to be a lot more creative.
"We will be able to order smaller, more limited runs of things...and if we run out of stock, we can order more and they'll be here in weeks rather than months.
"It's really, really exciting, and we'll looking to launch that in the next couple of weeks, and I hope supporters will be as excited about that as we are."
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