The MFC Apparel Thread

[McQueen 17,867]

I have so much MFC apparel gathered from years and years of sometimes senseless purchases. I must have at least 12 jumpers, numerous training kits, umpteen hats, Polo's, T shirts, Jackets etc. However, after looking at the 2017 range on the Demon shop, I think this will be the first time in a long time that I'll not bother with buying anything.

So, without detracting from the 'clash guernsey' thread, I thought it would be interesting to start a discussion around what other supporters feel about the range, the strategy of renewing or tweaking the designs year on year to keep revenues ticking over. The Star Wars, Ninja Turtle, Nerd T shirts they persist on pitching. There must be a market for it, right? I know I've never bought any if it for my children.

I've added a few questions to a poll - although I'm sure I could add many more. Just a few to get a general feeling from the posters regards the apparel range because mine is one of being underwhelmed.

Personally, I want to see footy shorts back in the shop. The last pair I had was when we had Reebok on board and with 'Hankook' and 'The Age' sponsor logos on them (can't recall year). I love wearing footy shorts - they are arguably the most comfortable item going around but I've not seen them for ages.

Over to you.

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

Just so people understand, most apparel isn't driven by the club it's driven by the manufacturer (New Balance, New Era and so on) therefore even if the club wants to sell certain products the manufacturer may not want to and vice versa.

All the licensed products (such as Star Wars) again don't come from Melbourne, they come from the AFL who have agreements with manufactures that hold those licenses meaning that Melbourne have no say in if they exist or not . Furthermore, so long as the brand guidelines are followed the clubs probably don't even see the designs before they are made as this would all be handled by the AFL's licensing team.

[drdrake 3,203]

4 minutes ago, Clint Bizkit said:

Just so people understand, most apparel isn't driven by the club it's driven by the manufacturer (New Balance, New Era and so on) therefore even if the club wants to sell certain products the manufacturer may not want to and vice versa.

All the licensed products (such as Star Wars) again don't come from Melbourne, they come from the AFL who have agreements with manufactures that hold those licenses meaning that Melbourne have no say in if they exist or not . Furthermore, so long as the brand guidelines are followed the clubs probably don't even see the designs before they are made as this would all be handled by the AFL's licensing team.

The club does control is the design, looking at the apparel flyer they sent out with recent season review book, I wouldn't buy anything it looks poor.  I cant understand why pur base colour for everything isn't red, it stands out get out of the navy as the primary colour.  To me I want to look at our membership areas an see a sea of Red.  I reckon the club would sell more red jumpers than white even if we didn't play in them.

 

What ever happened to the second away strip we had, I think last season or the one before, we had a white one and a red one, I can't recall us wearing it.

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

22 minutes ago, drdrake said:

The club does control is the design, looking at the apparel flyer they sent out with recent season review book,

Yes, they have input but a lot of it comes down to the manufacturer, trust me.

I agree that blue should be our main colour, the red polo shirts look terrible.

[Spirit of 26 261]

Need more novelty items.

Like the Chris Dawes football. "The ball that never leaves a mark! Is it a ball? Is it a brick?....It's hours of fumbling fun".

Or the board game Geelongopoly. "Be the first player to lose by 186 points. Then choose who to sack - the coach or the CEO". 

Or the new party game "What Mark Neeld really meant" -  One player chooses a favourite quote such as, "I simply want to coach the team that's the hardest to play against in the AFL". Another player then guesses what he really meant "I simply want to coach the team that's the hardest to watch in the AFL".

You'll be rolling down the aisles in tears.

[Sir Why You Little 37,450]

I am still waiting for the Demon shop to move so i can use it. 

Do not ever attempt to get there by Taxi or be able to get a Taxi to stop when you want to leave....

[Bitter but optimistic 22,289]

1 minute ago, Sir Why You Little said:

I am still waiting for the Demon shop to move so i can use it. 

Do not ever attempt to get there by Taxi or be able to get a Taxi to stop when you want to leave....

You're ahead of me SWYL, I've never actually been able to work out the shop's location!

[Sir Why You Little 37,450]

18 minutes ago, Bitter but optimistic said:

You're ahead of me SWYL, I've never actually been able to work out the shop's location!

Not suprising Bitters. You have to be quick to catch a glimpse...

[Ted Lasso 19,586]

Not as much of a fan of this years range but i like to grab 2 things per year to support the club a bit extra on top of my membership, Polo and Shorts pre-ordered. 

 

[biggestred 5,310]

Comparing the shop with my epl team tottenhams shop is like comparing a 2 dollar store with myers

[Satyriconhome 10,880]

7 minutes ago, biggestred said:

Comparing the shop with my epl team tottenhams shop is like comparing a 2 dollar store with myers

I didn't know they had 2 dollar shops in North London?

[Rossmillan 589]

4 hours ago, McQueen said:

 

So, without detracting from the 'clash guernsey' thread, I thought it would be interesting to start a discussion around what other supporters feel about the range, the strategy of renewing or tweaking the designs year on year to keep revenues ticking over. The Star Wars, Ninja Turtle, Nerd T shirts they persist on pitching. There must be a market for it, right? I know I've never bought any if it for my children.

My youngest girl (6) loves maxy gawn, so we bought her a Nerd T, and the eldest girl (8) a nathan jones Nerd T.  I couldn't get one because they had sold out, and said they were not getting more in, to keep it exclusive, and so they didn't overdo a god thing.  My kids love those shirts, and honestly with all the ballet, dancing and other stuff, it feels nice to have them so interested in the footy.  Many of my friends have mentioned how cool those T's are.

Ive also ordered some more T's for the wife to give me for xmas.

So in short, There is a market, and I like some of the stuff they put out.  I guess they have a variety since not every supporter has the same taste in fashion.  For example I hate caps without a bend in the peak, I can't stand those flat peaked caps :.(

[McQueen 17,867]

9 minutes ago, Rossmillan said:

My youngest girl (6) loves maxy gawn, so we bought her a Nerd T, and the eldest girl (8) a nathan jones Nerd T.  I couldn't get one because they had sold out, and said they were not getting more in, to keep it exclusive, and so they didn't overdo a god thing.  My kids love those shirts, and honestly with all the ballet, dancing and other stuff, it feels nice to have them so interested in the footy.  Many of my friends have mentioned how cool those T's are.

Ive also ordered some more T's for the wife to give me for xmas.

So in short, There is a market, and I like some of the stuff they put out.  I guess they have a variety since not every supporter has the same taste in fashion.  For example I hate caps without a bend in the peak, I can't stand those flat peaked caps :.(

That's great that your girls love the footy. My young bloke who's 7 years old usually supports the opposing team when it's on the television just to wind me up. He's shown little interest in wearing the footy gear I buy. I must admit, I've never bought a nerd shirt for him so I can't say he won't like one.

Thanks for changing my perception.?

 

[Moonshadow 17,678]

I buy a cap occasionally. Would rather spend the money on membership upgrade or similar. The range and styling of some of the new stuff is tempting though, especially those ugly snow jumpers. It's all a bit exy IMO for what it is.

I give away the membership scarf to a kid in the hood who I think I can convert. Usually ends up at an op shop i suspect. 

[Cards13 9,117]

To hide my pending old man balding creep I buy the hats. Love the new era hats, otherwise very little appeals although I did grab one of the woollen jumpers and Anzac jumpers this year as I'd "grown" out of my last Dees jumper.

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

2 hours ago, Cards13 said:

To hide my pending old man balding creep I buy the hats. Love the new era hats, otherwise very little appeals although I did grab one of the woollen jumpers and Anzac jumpers this year as I'd "grown" out of my last Dees jumper.

I have never been one to wear football merchandise but I'm on to my second New Era Melbourne hat and the new beanies are also very classy.

[Rossmillan 589]

21 hours ago, McQueen said:

That's great that your girls love the footy. My young bloke who's 7 years old usually supports the opposing team when it's on the television just to wind me up. He's shown little interest in wearing the footy gear I buy. I must admit, I've never bought a nerd shirt for him so I can't say he won't like one.

Thanks for changing my perception.?

 

Complete waste of money, but also consider AFL trading cards.  My eldest has got into trading the cards at school.  They also start to match the players to the cards they have, and Its amazing how she can all of sudden talk about who the best and fairest is, and which players are better than others.  It also seems to transition from trading the cards to kicking the footy at lunch time amongst her school friends, who are mostly boys.

[daisycutter 30,004]

5 minutes ago, Rossmillan said:

Complete waste of money, but also consider AFL trading cards.  My eldest has got into trading the cards at school.  They also start to match the players to the cards they have, and Its amazing how she can all of sudden talk about who the best and fairest is, and which players are better than others.  It also seems to transition from trading the cards to kicking the footy at lunch time amongst her school friends, who are mostly boys.

doesn't sound like a 'waste of money' then, but i know what you mean 

[Cards13 9,117]

11 hours ago, Clint Bizkit said:

I have never been one to wear football merchandise but I'm on to my second New Era Melbourne hat and the new beanies are also very classy.

Need to update the profile pic then CB... I'm onto my 3rd, looking at 4 and 5 now. Love the flatties.

[Dees_In_October 3,515]

6 hours ago, Rossmillan said:

Complete waste of money, but also consider AFL trading cards.  My eldest has got into trading the cards at school.  They also start to match the players to the cards they have, and Its amazing how she can all of sudden talk about who the best and fairest is, and which players are better than others.  It also seems to transition from trading the cards to kicking the footy at lunch time amongst her school friends, who are mostly boys.

Maybe we'll see her running round for the Dees one day!

[demoniac 1,337]

On 11/22/2016 at 2:21 PM, Bitter but optimistic said:

You're ahead of me SWYL, I've never actually been able to work out the shop's location!

I have no words...

[radar 1,867]

 

Might get jumper for girl in avatar - wear mini dress to our games at Sportman's Bar

[Bluey's Dad 3,419]

9 hours ago, radar said:

 

Might get jumper for girl in avatar - wear mini dress to our games at Sportman's Bar

You sure that's a good idea radar?

She doesn't look real impressed with the scarf lol

[praha 11,267]

On 11/22/2016 at 2:18 PM, Sir Why You Little said:

I am still waiting for the Demon shop to move so i can use it. 

Do not ever attempt to get there by Taxi or be able to get a Taxi to stop when you want to leave....

Didn't PJ mentioned a few years back that they wanted a store in a more centralised location in the CBD? Regardless of how nice the apparel is, is the branding effective if people not otherwise engaged with it are actually aware of it? I can't imagine anyone that isn't a Melbourne supporter making the effort to catch the train to Richmond or Jolimont, and then walking to the bowels of the MCG to buy a t-shirt. It might seem trivial but the store's location has always seemed at odds with the club's intention of being "the AFL's NY Yankees". I suspect rent in the CBD would be incredibly expensive, but I also suspect that increased foot traffic would lead to a boost in sale, which may offset that increase in rental expenses. If you're a visitor to Melbourne and you see a store dedicated to "The Melbourne Football Club", I suspect you'd be remotely interested enough to curiously window shop or step inside for a gander. I know I would and have when overseas and see similar stores for sporting clubs.

I know that branding is a chicken-egg scenario -- you can't have a strong brand if you're not strong on the field, and you can't be strong on the field if your brand isn't strong enough to attract people to financially support it -- but it's little things like this that contribute to the bigger issue that is the club's long-lasting branding issues.

[Sir Why You Little 37,450]

3 minutes ago, praha said:

Didn't PJ mentioned a few years back that they wanted a store in a more centralised location in the CBD? Regardless of how nice the apparel is, is the branding effective if people not otherwise engaged with it are actually aware of it? I can't imagine anyone that isn't a Melbourne supporter making the effort to catch the train to Richmond or Jolimont, and then walking to the bowels of the MCG to buy a t-shirt. It might seem trivial but the store's location has always seemed at odds with the club's intention of being "the AFL's NY Yankees". I suspect rent in the CBD would be incredibly expensive, but I also suspect that increased foot traffic would lead to a boost in sale, which may offset that increase in rental expenses. If you're a visitor to Melbourne and you see a store dedicated to "The Melbourne Football Club", I suspect you'd be remotely interested enough to curiously window shop or step inside for a gander. I know I would and have when overseas and see similar stores for sporting clubs.

I know that branding is a chicken-egg scenario -- you can't have a strong brand if you're not strong on the field, and you can't be strong on the field if your brand isn't strong enough to attract people to financially support it -- but it's little things like this that contribute to the bigger issue that is the club's long-lasting branding issues.

Totally agree. I have always hoped we could do a deal with The Melbourne Town Hall. Perfect place for a Demon Shop that would be massively cheaper than Fed Square. 

I still hope something happens because it is not practical where it is now