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Last summer, I proudly delivered six replica 1990 Chelsea football shirts to my son’s bedroom. The replica kits are great, the retro ones more. “These will fit you now,” I told him. Fill your boots.
My son is 15 years old, he is growing rapidly and, to his joy, he is already taller than me. Over the past six months, he has more than filled not only his boots, but everything else as well. Almost nothing bought before June fits him. He returned the shirts to me last weekend, already too small for him.
Fortunately, I haven’t lost it to the cause entirely. Instead, he turned to JD Sports, determined to “buy a new England shirt” ahead of the FIFA Men’s World Cup. He came back with a new but old one. Vintage 1990 World Cup to be precise… when I was exactly the age he is now. Talk about making me feel old!
Collaborator Matt Rogan’s son Conor in his ‘new old’ kit
Fans of 1990 authenticity will notice something in the photo above. The Umbro logo has disappeared from the chest and sleeve. Umbro no longer has a deal with the FA, those rights now belong to Nike. So why is my son being sold variations of a 32 year old jersey? What’s really going on behind the scenes in this polyester-clad part of the sports industry? Let me try to explain.
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First of all, replica jerseys are not easy for brands to earn money. But how’s that when they sell for £50-£80 and cost a pretty penny? Well, the biggest teams ask adidas and company for a significant fixed payment up front for the right to make and sell the jersey. Even if the brand manages to cover this payment through sales profits (and there are no guarantees!), they typically pay a percentage of the excess as a license fee.
Take my Chelsea team. They reportedly sold 1.3 million Nike jerseys last year. Even if you assume retailers pay Nike £30 per shirt (at best), that’s “only” £39m in a season. Which sounds like a good deal, until you realize that Nike pays Chelsea around £65m a year for the rights to sell them.
Inside vintage football kits on Commercial Street in East London where you can play FIFA in the cafe
Nor are they business-changing amounts of revenue for clubs. For a Premier League club like Chelsea, £39m is about a quarter of what they are said to have spent on transfer fees (let alone wages) last summer.
Brands are mostly stretched to sign deals like this as they are very effective marketing. I interviewed Tom Beahon, co-founder of premium sports brand Castore at a SportsPro conference earlier this year. Castore makes a number of football, rugby union and cricket kits (including the World Cup-winning England men’s cricket kit, Newcastle United, Aston Villa and London teams Charlton, Saracens and Harlequins). He told me that whenever Newcastle United appear on ‘Match of the Day’, they can immediately track the sales impact on their website, not just of the kit, but also of their own-brand Castore premium kit. For a challenging brand, that’s powerful.
Replicas of t-shirts for sale in the store
So how typical is it for my son to opt for a retro shirt? Well, he’s certainly not alone. Sites like this Football Kit Archive are popping up regularly. Every Chelsea jersey is a memory for me, and the site is definitely a guilty pleasure!
Retro is also smart business. England’s 1990 Men’s World Cup jersey will remain a classic forever, so there’s no risk of stock there. Better yet, if you don’t even need to make the t-shirts in the first place: recycling is the latest sustainable business model. The Classic Football Shirts team have built a serious business operation by reselling retro replicas. In fact, they have grown to the point of opening two retail stores, one of which is on Commercial Street in East London. This year they came full circle by signing up as a 2022/2023 shirt sponsor of the Burnley FC Championship Table Champions.
Burnley FC Classic Football Away Shirt
/ Photography by Kevin Hayden
Founders Doug Bierton and Matthew Dale trace the history behind the business in a YouTube documentary. It all started in the summer of 2006, when, like my son this year, they were looking for a piece of history. “We should have been revising for the exams, but with the World Cup on the horizon we had other priorities, namely looking for an original 1990 West Germany jersey,” says Dale, who has seen “a massive increase in interest from a new generation of football fans who have instant access to watch content from the legends of the game via YouTube or social media.It really fueled a huge surge in popularity for 90s jerseys as this was a It was golden for uniform design because of the bold patterns that were used.”
The launch of two classic football kit stores signals a broader retro culture. “The market has grown enormously in the last four years as soccer jerseys have become a bigger part of fashion culture,” he continues. “[Our] retail stores showcase the collection and host events where the shirts can be enjoyed in person.” The Burnley deal has been the next step for the business as part of that. “It was a deal we had to make. It was surreal to see the players come out for the season opener on TV, we watched it with our entire staff in one of our stores, so it felt like a collective achievement. Hopefully this year’s Burnley kits will become classics in their own right.’” She’s a beauty, so with promotion in the offing, it seems like a distinct possibility.
A replica jersey is the only thing that will be seen in this World Cup. If you’re put off by the fact that the tournament takes place during the dark and cold British winter, why not opt for a throwback Christmas jumper in aid of Shelter? The pub will be warm though, so I’ll stick with my new but old England shirt. It probably won’t be coming home, but the 2010 England away red long-sleeved shirt will.
Source: news.google.com