They don't. They get fed up when retailers complain incessantly about their terms of business and about not flexing them specifically for one retailer. They have a policy. It works for them and they sell thousands of bats every year. They don't flex it for the biggest or smallest retailers. You make your choice and then live with the consequences. I don't buy the hard done by retailer act I'm afraid.
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I find GM to be amongst the friendliest, and most accommodating people in the business. Their terms are their terms, as discussed before I don't see handpicking as a major loss if it is not (and never was, maybe never will be) an option, providing quality control etc is top notch, cant say Ive ever had a bat from GM that we felt wasn't up to scratch in terms of indicated grade.
It boggles the mind how someone can fall out with these people. They are brilliant and always bend over backwards to help. They are very trade focused, wanting a healthy relationship that works not just for them, but the retailer too. This can't be said for everyone in the industry.
I'm not surprised they chose to decline a viewing of the range from a closed account, this would potentially allow (and i'm not saying IJC would do it) the brand to be criticised by someone who has no incentive to sell the product*, possibly even grounds to poo poo it given the nature of the fall out.
*This is me freely admitting that yes, when a retailer had products to sell of course they are going to say the products are brilliant, best we've ever seen and will help you score a million runs. I like to think I'm fair though, if i don't like something i will always say so (my tastes aren't reflective of everyones but it can be helpful for those buying blind) and will always recommend an alternative/better value option if i think something isn't right for the customer.
Spent most of the show catching up with old contacts and making new ones, I'm sorry to say to those of you wanting a boat load of pictures, Lords really isn't about that. In all honesty we had seen (and in the case of some of the bigger brands, ordered) much of the stuff well in advance of the show. Many brands want to control their image releases themselves and we must respect that. They are spending money hiring venues/photographers etc, as well as arranging dates with their players who are on increasingly packed playing schedules, yet someone with a smartphone may post their products all over social media before they get the chance to release their professional pictures. At best it just doesn't sit right, at worst it means potential customers make a decision based on a low quality photo of a sample thats been battered around a trade stand all day.
Very impressed with the show, much more professional display stands overall and a more trade focused feel to the whole event. No (or far less) hangers on/members of the public. No fly by night brands with decorators tables covered with stickered up bats made by a white label supplier like TK/B3/India/insert your batmaker here. Most importantly, no lack of brilliant people from this crazy industry of ours to chat to.
A brief rundown of the actual launches themselves, the ones i can remember anyway (may have had some beers...)
There was actually little in terms of 'wow' factor that really made me stop and stare. Many of the most innovative products i had either expected (due to customer demand, big duffles, stemguards, duckbill profiles) or had already seen (adidas boost, NB super sturdy bowling shoe, kookaburra light bat range)
Many brands had T20 style shorter blade offerings, but this isn't a new idea particularly, and i always reserve judgement until i see actual stock. Some of these bats are huge, and unless overdried, too narrow, or miracle clefts, will be simply too heavy for most of the potential bat buying public. Thats not to say we don't like them or won't stock them, but they would have been headline grabbers 5 years ago.
I still save a softspot for Gray Nics, but as Paul touched on, as a retailer who made his 2016 order in July 2015, GN 2016 already feels a little old, though the fact i wont see it again from now until November, and the magic of the visit to Robertsbridge means it will be firmly atop my personal shopping list.
GM I'm sure everyone has seen already as they have launched publicly and i love their range, can't find fault anywhere really, and i'm very sorely tempted to drop my long held affiliation with GN.
Kook have a wealth of shapes and colours as always, the slight lack of sausage gloves has been noticed already by the public, even with the limited imagery available. Good range, their new top duffle will sell out before the Summer if this years one is anything to go by. Their lightweight range, which is also a shorter blade, will go down very well with the younger crowd.
Salix are largely unchanged save for a few tweaks, why change something so well received this year seems to be the message, and we completely agree.
Spartan, as always great fun and terrific banter with the human whirlwind who owns the brand, the one man marketing machine Kunal Sharma. Spartan are learning, perhaps a little too slowly for my liking, that bats attached to players aren't a great long term plan. The Steel, Sparta and other models have moved to address this but the range needs more cohesion and streamlining in my opinion. First priority must be stock levels and distribution, we were left lacking this year. Best cricket brand sunglasses ive ever tried though, made in Italy!
New Balance, the un-ignorable powerhouse. Still a little clunky and obviously learning, but to go from no cricket presence at all, to a pretty average range (shoes aside) to where they are now in such a short period is impressive. To my mind they need at least one more range to accommodate the number of players they have. Very few brands with such a stable of players will have multiple players attached to the same model.
Adidas, now made by Sareen, meaning huge improvements in their softs. We are still likely to only stock helmets, clothing and shoes in the short term.
Masuri, the most impressive display stand i've ever seen. Little that was new, aside from the potential for a greater wealth of customisation options, and ourselves and selected other retailers will be able to offer a much faster turnaround on embroidered lids. The accessories range has finally launched, meaning you can buy the new ear foams with the yellow clips if you want, even to fit an early vision series model. Swoppabands, chin cups etc. Most notably, sizing foam to help micro adjust the fit for those of you too big for a standard but too small for a large.
Aero, not much to report really. They are the best at what they do, improvements and tweaks mostly along with a revamp of their cricket range, grades to follow the P3/P2/P1 with colours to match. The top bat is UK made. They now have the distribution deal for CLADS.
Hunts, little change really, the main excitement comes from the business they also run, incredible cricket company, who have launched 2 bowling machines to rival the paceman original and pro. Of course, anyone wanting a UK made bat from one of the most experienced hand makers in the business, please get in touch as we are more than happy to arrange.
There were a smattering of others, Horizon socks, Sunwise sunglasses and Crazy Catch off the top of my head, and some brands we don't deal with and don't really have an intention to, i'll leave those to be mentioned by others.
Some positives:
The new top of the range Adidas shoe with the boost foam sole and no spike, i've already ordered a pair for myself having seen the 2016 Adidas range in the Summer.
Bigger, better duffle bags. GN Supernova, Kook KD500, improved GM Original, and perhaps most intriguingly, the Wheelie/Duffle crossover from TON, the Elite Duffle Wheelie.
Stemguards, great to see one in the flesh finally. I like the design and the simplification of models compared to the original idea that was promoted in the Summer by Masuri. GM also have their own version to fit their helmet at a lower price compared to Masuri. It won't be white as seen in the catalogue photos, and is a great wallet friendly option, it will be possible to get more than enough change out of £100 to have a net in our shop when you buy a GM lid AND Neck ProTect.
The Hunts County owned and run Incredible Cricket Company have their own version of the paceman which they launched this Summer. They have now released a twin motor version capable of firing real cricket balls or proper heavy bowling machine balls at up to 75mph, very exciting!
Lovely new linings and lighter materials in many pads and gloves, particularly those brands who use TON as their supplier.
The TON range in general. They said themselves the graphics for the likes of the Gladiator were looking a bit dated, a revamp has completely removed the notion that TON were maybe getting a little old hat.
Notable absentees and negatives:
Shrey and Albion not present. No BSI passing products to market perhaps? Or in the case of Shrey, still on the outside of the industry looking in after the ugly business with one of the biggest names, Masuri? Speculation, of course.
Nike. Nike have severed ties with worldwide distributor Aero, and appear to have pulled out of the cricket market everywhere except India. Their shoes arrived in May this year and were already outdated thanks to internationals on TV, including England players, sporting the Lunar Dominate and Accelerate 2, rather than the first generation model us retailers had been given to sell. Aero did not provide these players with their footwear so their origins are a little mysterious.
Puma were there, but i regard them as an absentee. Last year they stated they weren't looking to take on new accounts after showing us the range, nothing much seems to have changed this year so why did they bother turning up?
Asics were not present (unless i missed them, a few beers and their notoriously small display stand may have contributed here, apologies Asics if you were there!) but have not really changed much for 2016 and i imagine like us, most retailers made their orders months ago to guarantee christmas delivery. We were taken aback when we first learned of footwear brands working 6 months ahead, but it feels like the norm now.
I'm not sure about the footwear from any of the cricket brands having now seen them all. They have gone a bit high end to try to compete with real shoe brands, and have produced very comparable products, but i always maintain if someone is going to spend Asics/NB/Adidas money, they will buy one of those brands over GN/Kook/GM. The main sellers from these brands will of course be their more reasonably priced offerings and as always these are great. Sensible rubber, spike and multi function offerings as well as enough jazz and colour to keep the kids happy.
NO FREE BAR/REFRESHMENTS ASIDE FROM WATER, HUGE NEGATIVE!
Overall a great day as always, really looking forward to the next couple of months, visiting the suppliers to see their facilities and of course pick our stock is always a great time of year.
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Topic: Lords Trade Show 2015 (Read 27220 times)