RANGERS could bank up to £5 million from the sale of replica strips and official merchandise in the coming season after successfully renegotiating their controversial retail deal with Sports Direct.
The Ibrox club will also be able to substantially increase their income in the future as a result of tens of thousands of supporters increasing the exposure of both their sponsors and kit manufacturers.
Those were the confident predictions from Dr Peter Rohlmann, one Europe’s foremost experts on football shirt sales, as Rangers fans cleaned out the shelves in official stores and other affiliated outlets.
Dr Rohlmann, whose PR Marketing firm advises the Football Association, German Football Association and German Football League on how to maximise their income from replica strips, has been monitoring the situation at the Glasgow club with great interest.
Rangers have been operating at a substantial annual loss as a result of their stand-off with the firm owned by Mike Ashley and have had to rely on soft loans - which will be converted into shares at a later date - from wealthy fans Dave King, George Letham, Douglas Park and George Taylor in order to stay afloat.
Followers of the Ladbrokes Premiership club had been boycotting shirt sales in protest at the prohibitive terms of the agreement – the club made just 4p for every £1 spent – which the current regime inherited from their predecessors when they seized control at an EGM two years ago.
However, Club 1872, the biggest supporters’ group and the fifth largest shareholders in the Rangers International Football Club, called it off on Wednesday after the club announced they had been able to replace the existing seven year deal with a new 12 month contract on far more favourable terms.
Dr Rohlmann, who has been described as a “pioneer of scientific research and analytical consulting in the field of sports merchandising” and has conducted some ground-breaking research into this area in recent years, believes they will reap rich rewards as a result of the development.
“I am not surprised that leaving the bad contractual situation behind has meant that Rangers supporters are returning to the stores and market place in to order to buy Rangers products again,” he said.
“The reason is pretty simple - their purchases are supporting their beloved club again and not a strange person or company. Furthermore, there is an increased appetite to buy actual Rangers merchandise due to the boycott in the last years.
“Under normal circumstances, with good sporting success, no off-field turbulence and so on, I would expect Rangers to achieve profits from retail sales of nearly £5 million within one year. This amount will come from the sale of replica strips and other merchandise. But I would estimate that about 30 to 40 per cent should be due to club jerseys.”
Dr Rohlmann continued: “It is instructive to look at what Celtic’s income from merchandising is. The Parkhead club’s official half yearly accounts in the last season, in the 2016/17 campaign, ending on December 31, 2016, show that merchandise sales were up 16 per cent to £8.7 million.
“This includes all of their retail, wholesale as well as mail order and online activities. But that is not outright profit. In the previous fiscal year, ending June 2016, their merchandising increased in turnover by £0.898 million, or 7.7 per cent, to £12.577 million. Ultimately, Rangers will be hoping to generate the same sort of results.”
Given that Rangers posted a loss of £3.3 million in the last financial year – half of what they did in their previous financial results - and required to King, Park, Letham and Taylor to part with just under £3.75 million to keep them going, the new retail deal is a hugely significant development.
Dr Rohlmann, however, feels that the benefits for Rangers will be more than just monetary and will help to create a greater affinity between supporters and their club. That is something which has been noticeably absent in recent years
Asked how important shirt sales are to football clubs in the modern game, he said: “They are nothing without them. Official match shirts are the most important merchandise item for all football clubs in the world their kit supplier, too. No article can give more identity to the fans and create more closeness with their club.
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