City's marketing department: a bit of a whinge.

[LanguedocFox]

What's happened this season has been amazing, but I think that whoever is running the club's marketing department needs a kick up the ar$e.

 

Back before Christmas, I was trying to buy a DVD of last season's amazing performance, and wrote to ask where it was on the club's online store (which is terrible, as everyone knows). I was simply told, "Sorry, it's out of stock." Now, I know that it costs very little to duplicate, say, a couple of thousand DVDs, and there must have been a demand for them. Why didn't anyone think of producing more?

 

And we have the débacle over the past week or so, where the club shop ran out of everything leaving hardly a piece of merchandise left for sale. Didn't anyone think that maybe there would be a bit of a demand for shirts, scarves, replica kits etc etc as the season drew to a close?

 

I couldn't get to yesterday's game, so I asked a mate of mine if he could get me a programme. Apparently every programme-seller had run out well before kick-off. Again, I know that the marginal cost of printing additional copies of anything is buttons compared with the set-up costs: so didn't someone in the club's marketing department think of printing a few more copies of yesterday's programme than normal? Clearly not.

 

What's the betting that the highlights DVD of this season will sell-out within a couple of days?

 

Am I being unfair?

 

[davieG]

They'd  run out by at least 4.15 extremely poor merchandising decisions continue to happen.

[EastLondonFox]

Programme seller said they only printed 15000!! But that there will be a re-print

[Jay]

Saw loads of People were walking away from the ground at 12pm carrying 5-6 programmes each, it's a wonder they lasted till 4pm. They must have printed thousands more than normal and it still wasn't enough. I see they are doing a reprint though

[cityfanlee23]

Planning has never been a strong point of Leicester city, for example I've seen people on facebook groups moaning that people were going in, and buying 10+ tops, scarves etc etc.

 

If true why have we not got a cap on shirts per customer or per season ticket so people can get them for others who can't get off work??

No. this club allows people to buy 20 then put them straight on ebay, does not take a rocket scientist does it?

[Larry_LCFC]

There was a group of 5 Italians infront of me in the till queue. Each one had alteast 5 scarves. That's 25 gone just like that. Even more annoying that I was told they had just sold out and couldn't get one. The massive downside to becoming successful is that bullshit.

[LJS]

I got there two hours before kick off and was disappointed to not walk away with a programme. I felt sorrier for some of the old boys around me who have been ateending for 40 years and bought a programme for as long as they could remember. 

 

The club will be selling more though; it says so on the website. They'll be available from the shop and online "in the coming days".

 

Definitely poor planning to some extent; they'd have known demand was going to be sky high. I wasn't too impressed, walking towards the ground, seeing people who were clearly going to be nowhere near the game walking off with eight or ten of the things. **** off.

[fazzyfox]

The people in front of me in the queue were buying 3-5 programmes each, I saw others with armfuls of them, maybe to read one and preserve the other, maybe for a family member, neighbour or friend but some had the stench of ebay. When I got to the front of the queue the seller asked me "How many do you want" and when I replied "One" he looked really surprised! Whilst in the queue for the shop and then printing I noticed the sellers were being re-stocked at very short intervals and It looked like more than usual were printed but obviously not enough.

If the DVD (outsourced this time?) is not made in adequate quantities they're missing a trick, forget the dramatised film for a moment this DVD will have national and international appeal if marketed well due to the interest in the greatest ever story in football history.

[davieG]

Saw a guy with about 10 pies (might be an exaggeration  ) just before half time.

[Sharpe's Fox]

Don't moan when other people are doing consumerism better than you when you're trying to get the same thing. Maybe the club are at fault but you don't have to be clairvoyant to realise this would happen.

[Larry_LCFC]

Unfortunately we live in a generation where everything is about me, me, me. No respect for anybody else. It is like the free samosas being given out by the Sikh community. People were literally grabbing as many as they could from the trays like they hadn't eaten for a week. Didn't matter that other people were trying to get one. Luckily the Sikhs had planned better than LCFC and had made thousands.

[fazzyfox]

Saw a guy with about 10 pies (might be an exaggeration  ) just before half time.

8 of which are on Ebay right now as "Historic day catering souvenir"

[Larry_LCFC]

Don't moan when other people are doing cvntism better than you when you're trying to get the same thing. Maybe the club are at fault but you don't have to be clairvoyant to realise this would happen.

[Fox92]

Was shocked that they only printed 14000 programmes for the biggest day in the club's history. I didn't even bother trying to get into the club shop but did here they sold out of medium shirts so that ruled me out anyway. (Have seen one on ebay this morning for £150 buy now price ffs).

 

Got to wait a week before they go online.

 

I'm after a few things... I collect LCFC pin badges and pennants so want some Champions stuff. Not even sure if anything like that is available anymore - the merchandise has gone horrifically down hill year by year.

[Larry_LCFC]

Was shocked that they only printed 14000 programmes for the biggest day in the club's history. I didn't even bother trying to get into the club shop but did here they sold out of medium shirts so that ruled me out anyway. (Have seen one on ebay this morning for £150 buy now price ffs).

 

Got to wait a week before they go online.

 

I'm after a few things... I collect LCFC pin badges and pennants so want some Champions stuff. Not even sure if anything like that is available anymore - the merchandise has gone horrifically down hill year by year.

Good point actually, I didn't see any pennants. Used to be loads of them in previous seasons.

[LanguedocFox]

Was shocked that they only printed 14000 programmes for the biggest day in the club's history. I didn't even bother trying to get into the club shop but did here they sold out of medium shirts so that ruled me out anyway. (Have seen one on ebay this morning for £150 buy now price ffs).

 

Got to wait a week before they go online.

 

I'm after a few things... I collect LCFC pin badges and pennants so want some Champions stuff. Not even sure if anything like that is available anymore - the merchandise has gone horrifically down hill year by year.

 

 

I've spent my entire working life in marketing, and I've worked for every size of company from multi-nationals to one-man businesses. If that figure is accurate it is the most stupid fvckin' thing I have ever heard - and I have heard a lot of stupid fvckin' things in my time.

[Fox92]

Good point actually, I didn't see any pennants. Used to be loads of them in previous seasons.

 

I have pennants from most of our achievements yet can't seem to find one for actually winning the top flight. Unbelievable. 

 

I've spent my entire working life in marketing, and I've worked for every size of company from multi-nationals to one-man businesses. If that figure is accurate it is the most stupid fvckin' thing I have ever heard - and I have heard a lot of stupid fvckin' things in my time.

 

Well I heard it on RL so not sure if it's 100% accurate but it does explain why loads of people missed out on them.

[Guest Col city fan]

I was one of the lucky ones yesterday as I was there early enough to buy a programme. I could not believe it as stall after stall after stall I queued up in was running out of programmes.

Not yesterday surely?

Bad planning

[Larry_LCFC]

There were more programmes available than usual without a doubt. 4 hours before kick off, every stand had a roll cage packed with boxes next to it. Within two hours they were empty. More than usual, but clearly nowhere near enough. I think the marketing department work with their eyes shut sometimes.

[Domsdad]

There was a group of 5 Italians infront of me in the till queue. Each one had alteast 5 scarves. That's 25 gone just like that. Even more annoying that I was told they had just sold out and couldn't get one. The massive downside to becoming successful is that bullshit.

They were sat in front of me in the ground. Interested to find out how they got tickets...

[Monk]

I'm guessing they had a tight print deadline and didn't get it all finished in time to print enough of them.

[promised land]

Unfortunately we live in a generation where everything is about me, me, me. No respect for anybody else. It is like the free samosas being given out by the Sikh community. People were literally grabbing as many as they could from the trays like they hadn't eaten for a week. Didn't matter that other people were trying to get one. Luckily the Sikhs had planned better than LCFC and had made thousands.

Well that's cheesed me off, where were these? I do like a good samosa.

I noticed some of the beer areas had also run dry an hour before kick off.

Still nothing stops yesterday from being the best ever day in football history.

[Larry_LCFC]

Well that's cheesed me off, where were these? I do like a good samosa.

I noticed some of the beer areas had also run dry an hour before kick off.

Still nothing stops yesterday from being the best ever day in football history.

They were opposite the holiday inn near the substation. They hand a big stall but we also walking around the club shop with trays of them. Absolutely stunning samosa tbh

[sphericalfox]

surely by making limited merchandise available (specifically the programme for yesterday) it will make it more collectable and valuable in the long run?

[lgfualol]

I've spent my entire working life in marketing, and I've worked for every size of company from multi-nationals to one-man businesses. If that figure is accurate it is the most stupid fvckin' thing I have ever heard - and I have heard a lot of stupid fvckin' things in my time.

Surely the owners would be involved enough to know the demand as well, given that they own giant stores in Thailand. They could have doubled the amount printed and popped any unsold ones online which would have sold out fast as well.