Anthony Fairclough has moved on...

[cricketfieldclarets]

See literally hundreds of Americans wearing Arsenal / Chelsea / Liverpool tops with other Premier League teams, lots of La Liga and Serie A, Mexican League, Brazilian League etc etc

Why? Mass tv coverage of top leagues aaaaand....you can get them in big sports stores here and online from US websites.

2 years ago tried to buy a Burnley shirt from the club it took 3 weeks, was 15 pounds shipping and when it got here
they sent the wrong size.

There’s a big market out there. We can tap in.

100% agree.

And this is where we need outsiders.

As my post above. For better and worse, Burnley has always been a local club for local people.

Time to start making hay while the sun shines in terms of commercial revenues and global exposure.

[Top Claret]

It would be bad buisness not to put has many employees as possible on the government Furlough scheme. I would almost certainly think if they weren't they most certainly will be now.

[Rileybobs]

See literally hundreds of Americans wearing Arsenal / Chelsea / Liverpool tops with other Premier League teams, lots of La Liga and Serie A, Mexican League, Brazilian League etc etc

Why? Mass tv coverage of top leagues aaaaand....you can get them in big sports stores here and online from US websites.

2 years ago tried to buy a Burnley shirt from the club it took 3 weeks, was 15 pounds shipping and when it got here
they sent the wrong size.

There’s a big market out there. We can tap in.

And do you think if we started stocking Burnley shirts in the US sports stores you’d see hundreds of Americans buying and wearing them? Can you imagine how much money we would lose by stocking our shirts in US sports stores?

[cricketfieldclarets]

And do you think if we started stocking Burnley shirts in the US sports stores you’d see hundreds of Americans buying and wearing them? Can you imagine how much money we would lose by stocking our shirts in US sports stores?

This is exactly the mindset we have commercially also.

There is HUGE potential out there.

[Rileybobs]

This is exactly the mindset we have commercially also.

There is HUGE potential out there.

Yes, because commercially it makes absolutely zero sense to sell our shirts in US sports stores.

[Top Claret]

I doubt if there would be any demand to purchase a Burnley shirt in the US. When I have visited sports stores in the US, you only see the shirts of the clubs who compete in the champions league league on a regular basis, these are from England, Spain and Italy

[cricketfieldclarets]

Yes, because commercially it makes absolutely zero sense to sell our shirts in US sports stores.

Right now yes.

But with the right marketing and approach we could sell significantly more outside Burnley than we ever could within it!

Thankfuly the club seem to have both eyes very much on said opportunity!

[cricketfieldclarets]

I doubt if there would be any demand to purchase a Burnley shirt in the US. When I have visited sports stores in the US, you only see the shirts of the clubs who compete in the champions league league on a regular basis, these are from England, Spain and Italy

Dream big.

[mikeS]

Is it still the case you can only buy a Burnley shirt from the club and not other retail places ?

[cricketfieldclarets]

Is it still the case you can only buy a Burnley shirt from the club and not other retail places ?

Correct.

Now in Burnley I can almost understand that. We dont really need more than a couple of shops selling them in town. And driving the footfall into the store definitely makes sense. Everytime I go in to buy something I end up with more than I go for and the new store is great. Really well thought out, designed and stocked. And the staff in there are great.

Online is very poor though. And anyone who cant get to the turf is snookered really particularly in todays market where you can get what you want next day free of charge usually. Not saying we need that per se but thats the expectation of the modern online consumer.

[Leisure]

Is it still the case you can only buy a Burnley shirt from the club and not other retail places ?

You can certainly buy retro shirts elsewhere but don't think you can get the current strips.

[Herts Clarets]

The on and off field activities of our club are absolute polar opposites. On the pitch, we are about to secure our 6th consecutive season in the Premier League and have a team that has won games at most of the major clubs in the country - Liverpool, Man United, Arsenal and Everton to name 4. Behind the scenes we had the same Commercial Director who, if he has been with the club 21 years, was around when we were a third tier side under Stan. Our website, ticketing, online shop, shirt sale policy and whole host of other activities are still that of a third tier club. He may well be a thoroughly nice bloke, and a fan of our club and all the other rhetoric we may need to hear. For me i would rather have a hungry, hardnosed CD who can move the off field side of the club more in line with the position we occupy on the field.

[Top Claret]

Barcelona have worldwide football academys and have literally one or more in most states in the US at a cost of around 2k per kid and each one will have over a 1000 kids.

My nephew played for the academy in Austin and his mum would spend regularly 4 grand a season with them. He visited Spain and the Caribbean playing in soccer tournaments.

Accademys like the Barca franchise is where the money is. Maybe Pace could uses his other sporting connections to set up a Burnley franchise on the Barca model or something similar down those lines, who knows.

[Quickenthetempo]

And do you think if we started stocking Burnley shirts in the US sports stores you’d see hundreds of Americans buying and wearing them? Can you imagine how much money we would lose by stocking our shirts in US sports stores?

How would we lose money?

Are football shirts on sale or return basis? Will they charge us for store space?

A football shirt has one of the biggest mark ups going, so we wouldn't have to sell that many to make money.

[Top Claret]

If it was as simple as a sale or return basis all the Premier league clubs would be selling their shirts in the US. The obvious reason they aren't is because it isn't worth their while and they will more than likely lose money

[Quickenthetempo]

If it was as simple as a sale or return basis all the Premier league clubs would be selling their shirts in the US. The obvious reason they aren't is because it isn't worth their while and they will more than likely lose money

With the definitive answers of we will lose money I think he will have a bit more idea of why, than just everyone would be doing it if you could make money.

Someone has to be first at everything.

[brownside192]

Commercially we are pretty weak

Ticketing
Online shop
Website functionality
Ability to buy our Premier league kit anywhere other than in Burnley
Sponsors

All the above are poor, no shock they want to change things!! What, commercially, are we actually good at?

could you explain how you think ticketing at other premier league clubs is superior to the one we have here at this club. i have a season ticket on a direct debit scheme which is free to take part in , i know other clubs charge a fee, when i order away tickets online, i usually receive them the day after. we have the cheapest tickets in the premier league that have not risen in cost for seven seasons, we have free under 10 tickets.
could you briefly outline how we are so poor, maybe applying charges for all of the above, and also an away ticket membership fee which most other clubs adopt would be more agreeable to you?

[Top Claret]

With the definitive answers of we will lose money I think he will have a bit more idea of why, than just everyone would be doing it if you could make money.

Someone has to be first at everything.

Before we start trying to crack the American Market don't you think it would be a good idea to crack our own 1st. Like others have said you can only buy a Burnley kit from the club shop, there obviously must be a commercial reason for this.

Ask yourself why you don't see any other clubs apart from the big clubs selling shirts locally

[Quickenthetempo]

Before we start trying to crack the American Market don't you think it would be a good idea to crack our own 1st. Like others have said you can only buy a Burnley kit from the club shop, there obviously must be a commercial reason for this.

Ask yourself why you don't see any other clubs apart from the big clubs selling shirts locally

I think everyone understands this and most clubs do it. To keep all the profit.

If it's a guarantee sell like X amount of shirts are, then no point letting Sports Direct take your profits, or any other money the customer might spend while in the shop.

[cricketfieldclarets]

Before we start trying to crack the American Market don't you think it would be a good idea to crack our own 1st. Like others have said you can only buy a Burnley kit from the club shop, there obviously must be a commercial reason for this.

Ask yourself why you don't see any other clubs apart from the big clubs selling shirts locally

I dont think there is much need to sell the shirts elsewhere locally IMO. we do need to improve the website though for selling further afield both domestically and overseas.

Realistically our domestic appeal IS limited.

Our global appeal isnt however.

[Dyched]

One for that needs to improve is the actual advertising. After seeing the thread about the 1980s shirt the other day I popped on Instagram to see what the Burnley page had on. No advertising whatsoever for anything that is sold in the clubshop. That’s a massive difference to most other football clubs.

All we have is 1 photo of that said shirt. Discussing what sleeves etc it has or doesn’t. Take 5/6 detailed photographs and stick them on Instagram/Social Media. Get a player modelling one or a local school kid. Bring in an ex Claret to do the same.

[Chester Perry]

Barcelona have worldwide football academys and have literally one or more in most states in the US at a cost of around 2k per kid and each one will have over a 1000 kids.

My nephew played for the academy in Austin and his mum would spend regularly 4 grand a season with them. He visited Spain and the Caribbean playing in soccer tournaments.

Accademys like the Barca franchise is where the money is. Maybe Pace could uses his other sporting connections to set up a Burnley franchise on the Barca model or something similar down those lines, who knows.

Quite a number of Premier League clubs tried that route in America a lot crashed and burned - there has been a bit of a scandal recently about how these Academies are run over there too

Did we not have something similar in Australia for while?

[Top Claret]

I only know of Liverpool who run similar soccer schools to Barcelona in the US. I attended a Barcelona academy tournament a couple of years ago and they were at least 3 clubs from Australia there all linked to the Barcelona academy

[Top Claret]

Quite a number of Premier League clubs tried that route in America a lot crashed and burned - there has been a bit of a scandal recently about how these Academies are run over there too

Did we not have something similar in Australia for while?

What scandel?

[Rileybobs]

How would we lose money?

Are football shirts on sale or return basis? Will they charge us for store space?

A football shirt has one of the biggest mark ups going, so we wouldn't have to sell that many to make money.

I’ve never worked in retail, but I presume it would cost us a lot of money to distribute stock to stores across the US. I presume it would then cost us money to have shelf space in those stores. I also presume the demand for Burnley shirts in the US is so minute that there would be tonnes of wasted stock.

So overall it would be a massive waste of time and money.

[BurnleyFC]

Barcelona have worldwide football academys and have literally one or more in most states in the US at a cost of around 2k per kid and each one will have over a 1000 kids.

My nephew played for the academy in Austin and his mum would spend regularly 4 grand a season with them. He visited Spain and the Caribbean playing in soccer tournaments.

Accademys like the Barca franchise is where the money is. Maybe Pace could uses his other sporting connections to set up a Burnley franchise on the Barca model or something similar down those lines, who knows.

There can’t be that much money to be made out of these academies.

Barcelona are virtually on the verge of bankruptcy.

[Chester Perry]

What scandel?

It is to do with the bringing in of foreign coaches (usually young European ones) on inappropriate visas and paying them a pittance while reaping large profits and encouraging them to keep on illegally when their visa has expired, even letting them think they are still legal. This is by a private business, though a big one in academy terms, a lot of branches, it not related to club.

[daveisaclaret]

Could one of the people who thinks we could expand massively internationally explain either how this could be done or why nobody else has done it from a position remotely similar to ours?

In the USA (given as an example above), people who support a Premier League team either support one of the elite clubs or they support a club that had a high profile American player when they started watching. Given the most exciting current American player currently plays for an elite Premier League team, how exactly is it that Burnley could get a meaningful slice of the market and why has no other club done it?

[NottsClaret]

I'd be intrigued to hear how we crack the US market too. Other than ex-pats, we struggle to attract much interest beyond Ossy and Colne. Florida or Los Angeles feels like a stretch, however big you dream.

[Bordeauxclaret]

Burnley branded AK47’s?

[Chester Perry]

Could one of the people who thinks we could expand massively internationally explain either how this could be done or why nobody else has done it from a position remotely similar to ours?

In the USA (given as an example above), people who support a Premier League team either support one of the elite clubs or they support a club that had a high profile American player when they started watching. Given the most exciting current American player currently plays for an elite Premier League team, how exactly is it that Burnley could get a meaningful slice of the market and why has no other club done it?

Interestingly we seem to be quite popular in Wisconsin - home of the Greenbay Packers - this is a bit of an old record from me but a tie up with them would be an interesting idea - it comes down to values and story lines, the people of East Lancs and Wisconsin are really quite similar in outlook though vey different in background

[Top Claret]

There can’t be that much money to be made out of these academies.

Barcelona are virtually on the verge of bankruptcy.

Reason for that is the crazy saleries they pay to the likes of Messi

They can't lose with the football academy they are all run as franchises. The kids have to buy a training kit, plus the home and away kit every season. There are 1000s of kids signed on at the austin school

US parents are not like there British counter parts and think nothing of investing big bucks into their kids leisure time

[daveisaclaret]

Interestingly we seem to be quite popular in Wisconsin - home of the Greenbay Packers - this is a bit of an old record from me but a tie up with them would be an interesting idea - it comes down to values and story lines, the people of East Lancs and Wisconsin are really quite similar in outlook though vey different in background

We've certainly not got much in common with the Packers, being owned by American businessmen effectively makes us the opposite of their USP (which in reality is pretty much the only USP in the entire NFL) - but even if people in WIsconsin do like us and are similar to people in East Lancs how do the club sell BFC to them and how does that become profitable?

[Chester Perry]

We've certainly not got much in common with the Packers, being owned by American businessmen effectively makes us the opposite of their USP (which in reality is pretty much the only USP in the entire NFL) - but even if people in WIsconsin do like us and are similar to people in East Lancs how do the club sell BFC to them and how does that become profitable?

Greenbay could certainly teach us a few things on the commercial front, If you want an example of the best commercial operation outside of the big six then look at Leeds, and most of that nous comes courtesy of the knowledge San Francisco 49ers.

Greenbay is most of what the new owners want for our club - absolutely dominant in their region/locality and a fond/favourite 2nd team/underdog for large swathes of the country based on a history of early innovation and success and fighting way above their financial strengths. There are a lot of parallels

[ClaretTony]

I dont think thats true. (Sorry not a dig, just pretty sure it isnt true).

I posted above - it’s not true

[Chester Perry]

I posted above - it’s not true

you did and I asked the following which I think are key questions but no one seems: interested in/to know the answers to/willing to give the answers to

- do we know if the club topped up the salaries to make sure everyone received full pay
- do we know when these furlough's first started
- do we know how many staff have been furloughed

[daveisaclaret]

Greenbay could certainly teach us a few things on the commercial front, If you want an example of the best commercial operation outside of the big six then look at Leeds, and most of that nous comes courtesy of the knowledge San Francisco 49ers.

Greenbay is most of what the new owners want for our club - absolutely dominant in their region/locality and a fond/favourite 2nd team/underdog for large swathes of the country based on a history of early innovation and success and fighting way above their financial strengths. There are a lot of parallels

I'm sure they could teach a few things, but why would they? The 49ers have a huge investment in Leeds, it's a totally different scenario.

I don't really buy the comparison between us and the Packers, to be honest. I'm happy to take your word about the similarities between people in WIsconsin and East Lancs, but the similarities between the teams are very, very limited. Burnley have been fighting way above financial strength for the last few years, the Packers are one of the most successful teams in the history of their sport and have been led at the QB position by two of the greatest to ever play the sport for the last nearly 30 years consecutively. Both teams are underdogs, but the reason GB is so well-liked is because they're hugely successful underdogs. A team that is currently doing well just to be at the top table isn't a comparison to that.

But even if it was, the question still remains how would BFC exploit that and how would it be profitable? I don't know anywhere near enough about any of this to say that it can't be, I would just be really interested if anyone actually did have that insight either way beyond the surface level idea of appealing to foreign fans because we've got a great story.

[KateR]

I’ve never worked in retail, but I presume it would cost us a lot of money to distribute stock to stores across the US. I presume it would then cost us money to have shelf space in those stores. I also presume the demand for Burnley shirts in the US is so minute that there would be tonnes of wasted stock.

So overall it would be a massive waste of time and money.

I don't think you need to work in retail but you do need to know how to develop long term business plans and do your homework on market analysis and strategies. If you look at the status today regarding your "waste of time and money" then you would be right if you kept everything the same, but if you plan to change, become a disrupter, where the market analysis and appeal shows a niche then you exploit it. In order to do these things then you need to change, clearly they don't want to go down the organic route of change, the plans will have been in place for sometime regarding the purchase and change management, which we are witnessing first hand.

I don't know whether the intention is to enter the US market but I am very confident that the plan is to extend the 2020 market, I can 100% tell you of several US type groups who follow BFC, have meetings in different cities a few times a year, have online match text and discussion the same as here. In these groups people do moan at the lack of being able to buy merchandise, I have had issues with buying online through the club and only two weeks ago went elsewhere for BFC shirts. Just to be clear I am not in any way shape or form trying to convince you that these groups would make it profitable to have a store here, first they will need to have some very strong marketing campaigns and get the brand known before looking at shelves to stock.

These groups do have plenty of UK expats but there are a number of US nationals who have never been to the UK and quite a few who picked BFC randomly. Change won't be an overnight thing, it will gradually build and waters will be tested but we are seeing the change, hopefully the outcome will be beneficial.

[Rileybobs]

I don't think you need to work in retail but you do need to know how to develop long term business plans and do your homework on market analysis and strategies. If you look at the status today regarding your "waste of time and money" then you would be right if you kept everything the same, but if you plan to change, become a disrupter, where the market analysis and appeal shows a niche then you exploit it. In order to do these things then you need to change, clearly they don't want to go down the organic route of change, the plans will have been in place for sometime regarding the purchase and change management, which we are witnessing first hand.

I don't know whether the intention is to enter the US market but I am very confident that the plan is to extend the 2020 market, I can 100% tell you of several US type groups who follow BFC, have meetings in different cities a few times a year, have online match text and discussion the same as here. In these groups people do moan at the lack of being able to buy merchandise, I have had issues with buying online through the club and only two weeks ago went elsewhere for BFC shirts. Just to be clear I am not in any way shape or form trying to convince you that these groups would make it profitable to have a store here, first they will need to have some very strong marketing campaigns and get the brand known before looking at shelves to stock.

These groups do have plenty of UK expats but there are a number of US nationals who have never been to the UK and quite a few who picked BFC randomly. Change won't be an overnight thing, it will gradually build and waters will be tested but we are seeing the change, hopefully the outcome will be beneficial.

I’m not suggesting that the club shop website couldn’t be improved, although I’ve never had issues with it myself. It appears that they already ship overseas from comments on here so the hundreds (because that’s all that it will be) of US-based clarets can already get a shirt, and a £15 shipping charge seems fair enough to me for an annual at most purchase.

What I’m disagreeing with is that it is commercially viable to stock our shirts in US sports stores. It’s called crazy idea and one that would lose us a lot of money if any stores even actually agreed to give us shelf space.

There’s thinking big, which I’m in agreement with, in principle, and there’s deluded thinking.

[NottsClaret]

Every small town club has had dreams of global domination or expanding fanbases while enjoying their time in the sun. Blackburn, Bolton, Watford, Huddersfield, Wigan, Swansea, Cardiff... They'll all have had grandiose plans about becoming a big player and exploiting the worldwide exposure.

Unfortunately, we're making up the numbers. In a few years, it'll be someone else. I'm fine with it personally. I would like us to upgrade our commercial operations, particularly online - both the store and ticketing could be slicker. But the idea that anyone watches the Premier League anywhere in the world because of <insert small club here> is just a dream. How many times have you watched Getafe v Eibar in LaLiga. Or bought a Elche shirt?

[KateR]

I’m not suggesting that the club shop website couldn’t be improved, although I’ve never had issues with it myself. It appears that they already ship overseas from comments on here so the hundreds (because that’s all that it will be) of US-based clarets can already get a shirt, and a £15 shipping charge seems fair enough to me for an annual at most purchase.

What I’m disagreeing with is that it is commercially viable to stock our shirts in US sports stores. It’s called crazy idea and one that would lose us a lot of money if any stores even actually agreed to give us shelf space.

There’s thinking big, which I’m in agreement with, in principle, and there’s deluded thinking.

And what I am saying is that I agree with you but only if we stay static and it remains at just a few 100 people wanting something. But if you have a plan to change your base then you'd better have a plan to service it, I am confident in saying they intend to change the base and improve/expand. That needs to work and regardless of what you and I think you can see with your own eyes they are changing things, obviously it's not an overnight easy change, regarding AF, I don't know the man. New management always leads to some form of change and casualties, I wish him all the best but these are the shoots many of us have been waiting to see since NYD, let's see what they bring forward, just remember AP did say you'll be amazed

[yTib]

there's rather an amusing photo somewhere of me and anthony. we lied at school and said we were brothers.

needless to say we don't look alike.

[beddie]

The 'Perfect Erection' has been removed from the advertising board.

Which "dick head" decided to do that.

[SouthLondonexile]

At this rate anyone with any experience at the club will be moved out. The supporters in the Bob Lord Stand are in severe danger !!

Blimey that’s me in the firing line.
Love the Bob Lord Stand!

[cricketfieldclarets]

Could one of the people who thinks we could expand massively internationally explain either how this could be done or why nobody else has done it from a position remotely similar to ours?

In the USA (given as an example above), people who support a Premier League team either support one of the elite clubs or they support a club that had a high profile American player when they started watching. Given the most exciting current American player currently plays for an elite Premier League team, how exactly is it that Burnley could get a meaningful slice of the market and why has no other club done it?

There’s a million and one ways.

Engagement and marketing wouldn’t be a bad start. A clear strategy would obviously be needed. And a good start.

Time will tell. But we definitely need to broaden our horizons commercially.

[claretonthecoast1882]

How big are other clubs of a similar size to us around the world.

Bolton, Blackburn, Middlesbrough, Fulham, West Brom ... any clubs like these considered a global team / club / brand ?

[daveisaclaret]

There’s a million and one ways.

Engagement and marketing wouldn’t be a bad start. A clear strategy would obviously be needed. And a good start.

Time will tell. But we definitely need to broaden our horizons commercially.

Are you able to explain some of the ways?

Saying the club should do engagement and marketing is genuinely meaningless. Who should they engage, how and where should it be marketed? How can we engage people ahead of more established, bigger clubs with better teams and foreign players/owners who appeal to different markets? What marketing can we do that hasn't already been done better by others?

Making more commercial revenue sounds great but I really wish someone could explain to me how it can be done rather than repeating it as fact.

[aggi]

And do you think if we started stocking Burnley shirts in the US sports stores you’d see hundreds of Americans buying and wearing them? Can you imagine how much money we would lose by stocking our shirts in US sports stores?

Burnley (or other football clubs) aren't generally doing the selling and distribution of their shirts, it's the shirt manufacturer (or the company that is licensed to). For instance for Umbro it is this company https://www.gldgroup.com/

Clubs can buy for their club shop (normally at some form of best price so it's cheaper than what they'd sell to other retailers at) but the rest is done by the manufacturer. If you look at sports shops overseas (particularly Asia and the US) you'll see that shirts are often organised by manufacturer rather than country or similar.

Obviously if we told a manufacturer we wanted them to sell into the US or something and they didn't view it as profitable we'd need to incentivise them in some way. Equally, it wouldn't be possible to say that we didn't want them to sell to, for instance, Sports Direct in Burnley but they could sell to other shops in the UK, it's an all or nothing deal (although that may change at some point).

[cricketfieldclarets]

How big are other clubs of a similar size to us around the world.

Bolton, Blackburn, Middlesbrough, Fulham, West Brom ... any clubs like these considered a global team / club / brand ?

But we don’t need to measure ourselves against anyone else. Whether they’re doing better or worse than us.

[claretonthecoast1882]

But we don’t need to measure ourselves against anyone else. Whether they’re doing better or worse than us.

You have to compare or measure yourself against something otherwise it is just words.

If none of those clubs managed it then why can we ? Man City are still way behind the established worldwide clubs. It is just a dream to suddenly think we will be a worldwide club and there will be demand for our merchandise will people taking a huge interest.