The Leicester Tigers retail operation re-opens for business next week, with management of the club shop and online business now run entirely in-house.
Together with new kit suppliers Samurai, Tigers have already revealed the 2020/21 playing kits and will unveil the training wear soon, with pre-orders open from Monday, July 27 online.
Pre-orders are due to be fulfilled during the week commencing August 17 before the start of general sales and, hopefully, the re-opening of the stadium shop if it is safe to do so.
The fantastic Captains Collection of retro cotton shirts is due in early September and the club will continue to add more ranges throughout the year. The shop will also stock wider women’s and junior ranges.
Chris Rose, the Tigers’ head of brand, said: “The club outsourced its retail operation for a number of years and, while this has brought many benefits, the time is right to take direct control and be more accountable to supporters.
“As well as running the club shop and online operation, we also now have complete control over who our suppliers are and what we order.
“Teamwear partners Samurai will be the only stockists of new official Leicester Tigers gear. You won’t find it at other stores online or on the high street.
“To deliver the quality and service we want, we believe in providing short runs of high-quality products and working with smaller quantities of stock alongside the ability to re-order and re-supply. This will help in bringing new ideas but is also sensible in current conditions.”
Pricing will remain appropriate, with adult replica shirts from £60 and the top-quality cotton Captains Collection from £70.
Season ticket holders will enjoy a 10-per-cent discount on all purchases.
Feedback from supporters will play a big part in taking the business forward when the shop re-opens for business.
“The more feedback we receive, the better we can be,” added Rose. “With our senior designer working closely with Samurai, we’re very proud of what we have planned.”
There are a number of ways to provide feedback, including sales figures – the ranges that go well will be restocked and supporters will be able to join a waiting list for any lines temporarily out of stock – and emails to [email protected] which also provide an opportunity to send links or photos of anything supporters would like to see in stock as well as providing comments direct to the shop at Welford Road.
