Outsourcing things like this make total sense, the main problems I thought we had with this was a terrible overseas distribution and availability? Something I thought had been addressed a little.
The other major issue is of course the figures we get in relation to other clubs.
"Kit deals are not traditional sponsorship deals – they are licensing deals, which enable the kit manufacturers to use the club’s brand to sell branded apparel. Clubs will traditionally receive an annual fee – for example, Manchester United receives £75 million per year from Adidas, Chelsea receives an initial £60 million per year from Nike, and Arsenal receives £30 million per year from Puma – and then 10-15% of the revenue the kit manufacturer generates from shirt sales. "
Slightly different thing of course, but the main reason it makes sense is this :
"Why don’t football clubs simply manufacture their own shirts and keep 100% of the profits? The simple answer is because they’re football clubs, not kit manufacturers. They don’t have the global distribution networks necessary to manufacture, ship, and sell hundreds of thousands, or in some cases, millions of shirts each year. Many clubs even outsource the logistics of their online shops, which are miniscule operations compared to what is required to manufacture, distribute and market kits on a global scale."
To explain The Independent asked Jake Cohen, a sports lawyer who has worked on a number of high-profile transactions in football, to debunk the myth
www.independent.co.uk