SMiSA Statement
The St.Mirren Independent Supporters Association (SMiSA) yesterday released the following statement via their website at www.smisa.net in which they criticise the operation of the clubs commercial department.
The statement reads as follows;
It is with regret and a degree of reluctance that we feel the requirement to raise the following issue publicly but it is something that we believe requires addressing and our previous attempts to raise the following issue with the Club have, to date, proved non-productive.
Since the departure of Provan Sports the availability of St.Mirren merchandising has all but disappeared to the point where we can barely lay claim to possessing a Club outlet at all.
The situation experienced last Christmas – the busiest time in the retail calendar – where parents were unable to purchase various sizes of replica kit coupled with the practically non-existent range of merchandise led to a large number of supporters raising the situation with SMiSA and, to the best of our knowledge, to the club. In addition one SMiSA member actually raised this with the Commercial Director at the Club’s AGM and unsatisfied with the answer he was given requested that we raised the issue formally with St. Mirren.
On the 6 January 2012 SMiSA sent a letter to the Commercial Director seeking clarification on the Club’s position regarding this matter. Months then passed without a reply. When we queried this we were informed that a reply had in fact been sent out but having never received it we can only conclude it was lost in the post. The Commercial Director had not kept a copy of the letter but sent us an e-mail on the 26 March 2012 confirming that: As far as club merchandise is concerned we are making improvements to this between now and the end of the season, and you will see vast improvements for the start of next season.
It is quite clear that his forecast improvement has not materialised. One supporter we met on Saturday informed us that he: “felt sorry for the girl in the shop who was very apologetic and clearly embarrassed at the situation”. SMiSA, the club and local press have been encouraging supporters to come along to the games this season and spend their hard earned cash at the Club. Yet here we have a situation where a potential income stream is being allowed to fail dramatically, an income stream incidentally that we have been informed contributes financially to the Club budgets.
At 2.00pm last Saturday St. Mirren FC sat proudly at the top of the SPL league table yet our ‘Club shop’ resembled less than that of a Junior outfit. If the outlet does indeed contribute financially to the Club why is it not being maximised at a time when Scottish football and St. Mirren FC is crying out for fans to come to games and spend money? It is clear that this commercial exercise has failed. The level of service experienced a couple of seasons ago under Provan Sports generally matched the expectations of St. Mirren supporters and those of visitors to Paisley. Anyone traveling through to Motherwell on Sunday should take a couple of minutes to pop into their shop run by none other than Provan Sports and see what an SPL Club should and does offer its fans.
We will again attempt to formally raise this with the Club and report on the outcome. Promises are not being delivered and this situation is to the detriment of the Club on a variety of fronts, financial, image and credibility.
It would be most interesting, but admittedly impossible to estimate the loss of commercial revenue over what is now approaching a year and a half. With Christmas once again on the horizon we fear that if this situation is not addressed not only will the Club miss out on a much-needed revenue boost but that St. Mirren fans will face further disappointment from this aspect of the Club.
SMiSA
What are your thoughts on the commercial operation of the football club ? Leave your comments below !
Comments
I have had issues with the club being less than willing to help , there are times where from tickets / shop / general issues the club have not helped & It seems we are nothing but an inconvenience.
Quick to take our cash - never quick to help.
A huge voice of concern was given at the change last year.
That concern has been realised and the unheeded warnings proved to turn our commercial entity a laughing stock.
JD are horrible to deal with, lack product knowledge and care little for our fans. hence the mess over strip ordering.
Whoever you are you are wrong.. sort it. Man up.
I was back in paisley near the end of last season[From Australia] Could get next to nothing in JD sports and the ground shop would as well not be there. I used to order online from Provan without any problems
Only yesterday when I was buying my ticket for the Ayr game I also wanted to buy 4 shirts for my grandchildren in America (who are big supporters) and are coming over to Glasgow next month and are desparate to come to a Saint Mirren game wearing the current stripes to be told that they were almost none available and if i wanted to getn them I would be required to go "on line
What sort of organisation is that............. it has bugger all to do with the "carrying ons" of the summer.
It is merely complete incompetence by those in charge at Saint Mirren.
Did you not see the Dundee derby and all the shirts being worn at that game............. are we really just a tuppenny halfpenny organisation.
I worry in case the team may also run out of shirts!!
I was told by an seemingly embarrassed lady in the club shop that this is all we have which amounted to some junior home shirts and last year (Cabrini) sweatshirts. She didn't even know when new stocks were arriving.
C'mon St Mirren (managment) your losing profits on selling mechandise both at the shop and on-line.
They surely must also want to see their name on shirts etc being worn outside the football stadium.
Who else do they sponsor and what sort of sales do they get for from the supporters of that team.
I cannot believe we are so skint that we cannot even afford to stock the small supporters shop with a reasonable amount of merchandise.
I cannot believe Diadora will be sponsoring us next year if they get little or no sales from the supporters this year.
Somebody at Saint Mirren is blind to this Income Stream and he/she needs a kick up their backside.
He is the useless chancer who was trying to take over the club without paying a penny but did not in the end fool enough supporters.
I thought he had been kicked out of Saint Mirren.
No wonder Provan Sports are out of the picture. RA wanted to control everything on his own............... he runs the shop the same way he tried to take over the club........ without laying out a penny and using everybody else's money.
I am surprised he has not put one of his pals in charge of the shop.............. maybe he has and that is why there is such chaos!
Sometimes we really are worse than a Junior Club. In fact most Junior CFlubs are better run.
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