I will start by saying this is not a thread to start bashing past boards, admins. or coaches. I will spew if I hear that same old crap again.

That now out of the way, I will now address the main point of this thread. I have been noticing a disturbing trend that our merchandise is absolutely no where to be found in any kind of sporting goods stores (Rebel Sport doesn't even have a Demons segment amongst their AFL gear), supermarkets (Coles sell pencil cases, lolly tins and even bloody eco bags but we are no where to be seen) or newsagents (stationery and birthday cards with the Dees logo on them are pretty rare).
I understand the reason for this to an extent (the last 7 years) but it seems that even when we were up during the Daniher era and the Northey era, that we were never taken overly seriously and that our exposure from a commercial point of view reflected this point of view. We have hit an absolute nadir as far as our commercial credibility as a club goes BUT as long as I have been a supporter, we have always been viewed as the kind of team that doesn't ever get merchandise off the shelves.
My question is: what do we have to do to change this situation and how long will it take? I'm thinking decades and that is if everything goes right. I view Hawthorn as the model we should aspire to. They were a club with a small supporter base during the 70's, 80's and early 90's but after 30 years of continuous success, the kids who grew up barracking for the Hawks (while their parents supported other clubs) ended up buying membership tickets in 1997 and ended up having kids of their own whom they had no trouble converting to the cause. That process took at least 30 years.
Again I ask, what do we have to do to change this situation and how long will that take?

KMart don't stock Demon merchandise but they stock Roos and Bulldogs, go figure, I buy my stock from the G or Demon a shop and I suppose so does everyone else, there's a fair bit of stock at Carribian Gardens so there must be certain places that sell our gear.As for how long it will take who knows.

Superbowl ad?

sportsmart frankston has stuff

sorry rebel sports, knew it has sports in it

As I understand it stores like Coles, Woolies, KMart etc sell a selected range of club merchandise which is roughly based on demographic.

When my kids were young we had to drive to KMart Campbellfield to get Demon stuff. Our local Northcote store had no interest in us.

Clearly the selection of Campbellfield as an outlet was not based on any demographic. The choice is entirely the store's.

Once at Bi-Lo I bought a Freo bag (as the least-offensive choice). Occasionally an odd item hits the shelves and last year I was lucky enough to secure a Melbourne 2013 AFL Season Limited Edition Collector's Tin (full of coconut cookies). It had a Player List and 2013 Fixture printed on the underside. As you can imagine it is a much-cherished item.

Not winning a flag in 50 years is the base of the problem. It will take sustained high end performance to turn this old girl around

We missed the fully televised Flag by one year.

Ch7 started that in '65.

We almost made it back with Northey at the helm with 5 successive finals appearances.

We have the first part in place PR.

The second part win games consistently (be competitive in losses).

Winning will bring back the bandwagon supporters and with the 30k odd existing members this will increase the demand for merchandise.

When retailers realise they can make money of Dees stuff it will be there.

Not winning a flag in 50 years is the base of the problem. It will take sustained high end performance to turn this old girl around

We missed the fully televised Flag by one year.

Ch7 started that in '65.

We almost made it back with Northey at the helm with 5 successive finals appearances.

Indeed. I'm looking forward to the day when Maserati shall be proud to join us:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Maserati_logo.svg

Not winning a flag in 50 years is the base of the problem. It will take sustained high end performance to turn this old girl around

We missed the fully televised Flag by one year.

Ch7 started that in '65.

We almost made it back with Northey at the helm with 5 successive finals appearances.

I've always wondered why they never made DVD's of our premiership win in '64 and there is my answer. Thanks for the answer WYL.

Online shopping is easier to get right and do well. And its more beneficial to the club as we get a bigger cut.

Fans not seeing merchandise in stores is a peripheral issue really.

Win a few premierships and it should flow through from around 5 to 10 years after the first.

A little spark from the Melbourne Heart deal. Maybe we could try to forge an alliance with the likes of Manchester United? We share the devil as a mascot. And there is no other sporting club that can [censored] merchandise like they do. Make even the filth look small time. We could become Melbourne United. M E U rolls nicely off the tongue.

Not a bad idea since we haven't been united for 50 years.

Not a bad idea since we haven't been united for 50 years.

That would be a Golden Anniversary of sorts. Surprising we are still together barracking for the same club really. Anyway, a Golden Anniversary is supposed to be a blessed milestone.

Maybe it's purely demographic. Perhaps Melbourne supporters are less interested than supporters of other teams in purchasing branded product. Combine that with Melbourne having fewer supporters than the big teams and you'd have a reason why stores don't bother stocking stuff they just know won't sell.

Maybe the Manchester City trillionaire can buy us like he recently bought the Melbourne Heart? If he did, he would be sure to create merchandise as he would want to make us the greatest club in the code in return for his investment!

Win games.

Win games.

Yep

We can close the thread now, all solved!

KMart don't stock Demon merchandise but they stock Roos.

Paul Roos? I'll buy one.

I used to own a couple of AFL stores, amd its pretty simple really. On field success translates to sales.

Compared to big teams like Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Richmond etc.....Melbourne ,Nth, footscray etc hardly sell at all.

Its purely business.

If we start getting some on field success and some excitement is created then footprint will grow.

I used to own a couple of AFL stores, amd its pretty simple really. On field success translates to sales.

Compared to big teams like Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Richmond etc.....Melbourne ,Nth, footscray etc hardly sell at all.

Its purely business.

If we start getting some on field success and some excitement is created then footprint will grow.

yep and it has to be sustained over a long period,not just 2 years

Win games and lots of them!

We also have to break the 40000 members mark.