Topic: The IJC Philosophy - Which Brands Make the Cut for 2016? (Read 21525 times)

simonmay5 · « **Reply #15 on:** October 15, 2015, 07:45:42 PM »

Quote from: ItsJustCricket on October 15, 2015, 02:29:03 PM

All,

As you have seen from my LinkedIn article, a lot has been made of the position that IJC have taken on the cricket industry. Some have called us hypocrites, some have praised our morality, but most of all, people are curious as to who we will be having on our shelves and bat racks for 2016. So in this post I'm going to reveal who has and who has not made it for 2016, giving some reasons, and how each brands decision was tied back to our original philosophy.

If you haven't read the excellent post Chris made in the other topic, the philosophy basically boils down to this. We believe that cricket companies should either manufacture their own bats, or at least have absolute control over the manufacturing process (whether in the UK or not is irrelevant), or if not, they should be honest and open about this. All bats should be able to be handpicked.

We know that from a business point of view this might not make us the most money, but that's not why I came into this business. I didn't come into this business to be a millionaire, I did it because I wanted to look forward to going into work, to enjoy what I did, and make our customers happy. I left a much higher paying job to start up IJC, and often make decisions which from a cold numbers point of view may seem mad. Often I turn down suggestions from Chris (the hard-nosed Tory capitalist of IJC), who wants to stock something which would probably make us a lot of money, but wouldn't tie in with these beliefs. He wanted to stock GM, by ordering say 20 bats, and then picking the best 15 or so and sending back the rest, but this doesn't tie in with our ethics, and so I happily turned down what is no doubt an excellent product, and absolutely some good profit, so I could be happy in the business I'm running.

So without further ado, the brands we are dropping for 2016 are -

CP - This is a brand who won't tell us where there bats are made from, and we have had suspicions for a while about where they are made, and so we simply cannot have them on our shelves. Very good bats, and sold well (especially the Plus Edition), but we can't preach one thing and practice the other!

New Balance - Perhaps the most controversial. NB now have two of the best three batsman in the world, and will no doubt sell incredibly well. They also are decent value for money, and sold very well for us in the �105 price range last season. They are honest that the bats are made in India, outsourced, but crucially, we cannot handpick the bats. This means we cannot, and no other shop can, guarantee the quality of the bats. Therefore, how can me or my team wax lyrical about these bats if we know in our heart we probably wouldn't have hand selected them? Again, Chris wanted them because he sees it from a business point of view, which would mean we could make more money, but that's not what this is all about for me. So NB bats go, shoes, bags etc will stay.

Mars Cricket - This is a company who offer sponsorships for any Tom, Dick or Harry, regardless of what level of cricket they play. They are also essentially just a "sticker" company, since they make no bats themselves, yet they advertise heavily based on the fact they are UK made, and even have UK stickers on them. Crucially, they say, "designed in UK", or "UK Company", which we feel to be deceptive, and is a major reason we have dropped them from the range.

Spartan - This one is more of a business decision. They've lost Prior, Clarke and Dhoni from the big stage, and Gayle is out injured and now only playing overseas predominantly. We feel this is a brand on the decline, and so have taken the decision to step away from Spartan.

PiriPiri - Again, this is a company who are simply based around their stickers. Not the hardest decision to move away from them. Much like Mars, they also have very little input into the design of the bat, using fairly generic shapes, and the finishing touches and attention to detail just isn't there.

Slazenger - Perhaps the most confusing, and some would say, dishonest of all. Watch my video on the V800, or the V12 Harrow, where there are stickers on the bat which say Made in England, but stickers on the barcode which say Made in India? How can we make sense of that? Further, the bargain bin Sports Direct association doesn't help the cause massively.

And now, the brands which we have decided to stock, and why.

Gray Nicolls - They are perfectly open about where their bats are made, and we have mentioned this in our Made in England vs Made in India video. Also, we handpick from well over 500 hundred bats when we go there, so we can ensure the quality!

Kookaburra - Very, very similar to GN. Open and honest, and we can handpick from numerous, and often unopened, crates.

Salix % HitsHard - An absolutely fantastic set up, one of my favourite days of the year is getting the train to visit Andrew and the team. No arguments here about the provenance or quality of the bats. They didn't sell amazingly well, but we feel they will be a lot better this year, and they tie in with our ethos absolutely brilliantly.

Phantom - Some would call Phantom a sticker brand. We would disagree. Aftab takes time to have a massive input into the shapes and designs of the bats, making them something different, and ensuring there is a coherent range. The attention to detail is also second to none, just look at the Hero junior bat. The embossed stickers, training tops, bat covers etc etc are something which sets them apart. Phantom have also been incredibly popular, and they, too, are open about where the bats are made. We also handpick from them, and the returns and aftercare service is one of the best around. Further, Aftab brings us a lot of his bats for us to sift through, and so the handpicking box is most definitely ticked!

Blank Bats - A forum favourite! They never stick on our shelves for very long, and they are similar to Phantom in many ways. Have never claimed to make their own bats, and are very honest about the provenance. One of their team is also based very locally to us and so we can get a good number of bats to trawl through and pick out the best.

Hell4Leather - Self explanatory really. Matt does it all himself, and we handpick too. Probably the easiest one to explain!

Millichamp and Hall - Very similar to H4L. Handpicking and made in house. I've seen them do it with my own eyes - they have all the machinery, including a press.

Newbery - We know where Newbery bats are all made, they are incredibly honest and open, and we have chatted to them in great length about the manufacturing process. When the Kudos2 pressing issue emerged, we could chat to the guys for a long time about the specifics of the pressing, which sets them apart from NB, or PiriPiri, or Spartan etc. They are all made from the very beginning in England, and we handpick each and every one from their rather beautiful Hove location. In all our years of our operation, Newbery have probably been the most consistently high quality and popular brand, with the most positive feedback from customers. Further, they let us design and shape (and very specific about the shape we were!) our own bat, right down to the grips for this coming season, the toe guards, the size of the back sticker etc etc, and so this is just further proof that they have control over the manufacturing process. We can also get bats turned around within a couple of days when we request for them to be made up, just further supporting evidence.

Chase - This one isn't absolutely 100% for certain, but is looking likely. Another brand who make their own bats and will welcome us to hand pick from them, they really do align with all our principals very well.

CA and SF - I've put these two in the same category for obvious reasons. They both make their own bats (irrelevant that this isn't in the UK), and they are incredibly high quality. We also have a UK distributor from who we pick our bats from. On average we pick about 5 from a selection of between 20-30 depending on the quality, and so the handpicking element is also clearly ticked here. Having these brands also adds some variety to the range, as some people prefer the Asian shapes and profiles.

Adidas - Perhaps the most surprising of the lot. We wanted to add Adidas, as we feel they will be popular moving forwards. The 2016 range is very attractive, and whilst not the cheapest, we do feel the quality is there. We have focused mainly on lower end bats, and Adidas have welcomed us to their warehouse to handpick with open arms. They, too, are honest about where the bats are made (Sondi), and so have made no attempt to deceive the customer.

So hopefully there you can see that my article was not just a publicity stunt, and that IJC has a clear philosophy and ethics behind it, which aren't just about making money. We aren't, however, overly self-indulgent, we still stock a wide range of prices, shapes, brands etc, allowing the customer a very good choice of bats. I doubt many other shops can speak with this authority over their vision and morality behind the ranges.

Most importantly, we can confidently say that every single bat on our shelves is handpicked. How many other shops can?

Paul

Hi Paul one thing I would say that you say how many other shops hand pick all their bats I pretty sure that Asad at Uzi sports so does vitas sports don't they

GarrettJ · « **Reply #16 on:** October 15, 2015, 07:52:20 PM »

If phantom or even blank bats have a lot of input into the bats that are made for them I'd be very surprised. Good quality bats so should be stocked but it doesn't quite fit your business model. Blank bats are certainly worth bending the rules for, good bats and great lads.

Have you approached Aldred, fits the bill perfectly.

ItsJustCricket · « **Reply #17 on:** October 15, 2015, 07:53:04 PM »

Simon, I know that Uzi stock GM and NB, neither of which can be handpicked. Likewise with GM and Vitas.

Many shops can claim to pick say 90% of their bats - but how many can claim to actually pick every single one?

Chris

ItsJustCricket · « **Reply #18 on:** October 15, 2015, 07:56:07 PM »

Quote from: GarrettJ on October 15, 2015, 07:52:20 PM

If phantom or even blank bats have a lot of input into the bats that are made for them I'd be very surprised. Good quality bats so should be stocked but it doesn't quite fit your business model. Blank bats are certainly worth bending the rules for, good bats and great lads.

Have you approached Aldred, fits the bill perfectly.

Having dealt with both of them directly, we know that they do. We know for a fact that Phantom have a very strong involvement, for example they tweaked the shape of the Illusion so they could produce a fuller batch for IJC by request.

We've had Aldred before, and certainly would be open to having them again in the future, so never rule it out...

tommo256 · « **Reply #19 on:** October 15, 2015, 08:08:57 PM »

Im sorry, but shoot me down if im wrong, I understand a business there has to be a certain amount of pleasure made from it, and I'm glad that you are proud to be able say that you hand select everything and have that control over the stock you have in store, but what's the point in running business if your not in it for profit margins? as how is it then viable to be a business?

ItsJustCricket · « **Reply #20 on:** October 15, 2015, 08:14:14 PM »

The point of the business, from Paul's point of view, is to enjoy it, whilst also making enough money to live off. We will still make a decent profit from the brands we've chosen (I hope!), and so we don't need to be in it to just relentlessly search for money!

Hopefully this is seen as a good thing!

simonmay5 · « **Reply #21 on:** October 15, 2015, 08:19:00 PM »

Quote from: ItsJustCricket on October 15, 2015, 07:53:04 PM

Simon, I know that Uzi stock GM and NB, neither of which can be handpicked. Likewise with GM and Vitas.

Many shops can claim to pick say 90% of their bats - but how many can claim to actually pick every single one?

Chris

But surely with gm if vitas Asad did not believe that the bat was up to the grade they would return it no and get more in so really they are picking the bats they believe are up to the grade and with gm they are pretty dam good at keeping within the grade of each bat

ItsJustCricket · « **Reply #22 on:** October 15, 2015, 08:20:26 PM »

Simon,

That may be the case, but that isn't actually hand picking, so they can't really claim that!

Chris

simonmay5 · « **Reply #23 on:** October 15, 2015, 08:34:37 PM »

Quote from: ItsJustCricket on October 15, 2015, 08:20:26 PM

Simon,

That may be the case, but that isn't actually hand picking, so they can't really claim that!

Chris

Are you dropping ton of the list as well as I believe that they are great bats and pretty sure can be hand picked

ItsJustCricket · « **Reply #24 on:** October 15, 2015, 08:47:54 PM »

Simon,

We haven't stocked Ton this year, as they didn't sell well for us, that's why they didn't feature on this list.

Chris

Vitas Cricket · « **Reply #25 on:** October 15, 2015, 09:03:27 PM »

Quote from: simonmay5 on October 15, 2015, 08:19:00 PM

But surely with gm if vitas Asad did not believe that the bat was up to the grade they would return it no and get more in so really they are picking the bats they believe are up to the grade and with gm they are pretty dam good at keeping within the grade of each bat

Honestly haven't ever felt the need to send a GM back for not being up to standard. I'm sure GM would not only be happy to assist in rectifying, but would be mortified at the 'mistake'

It's an interesting approach this one Paul, gotta commend you for going down this route. For me hand-picking is very important from certain brands, GM really isn't one of them though.

Would love to say yes we hand-pick every bat we sell, of course it is impossible if we want to offer a relevant, varied range.

Surprised Adidas allow hand-picking, admittedly I've never asked as we've never ordered a bat from them. As an aside, I don't think they are Sondhi made anymore?

Also, regarding 100% hand-picking, going forward Kookaburra do not allow the hand-picking of their lower grades, there still needs to be some clarity over exactly which models are excluded but I assume you won't be ordering those?

CA and SF intrigues me, neither have official distributors in this country, certainly nothing on a par with the distributors of TON. I'm sure they are a bit more professional than a chap with some bats in the boot of his car (we've had a couple of those recently trying to flog us CA's!) but ultimately are carrying a fairly small amount of stock sent over from the subcontinent. Of course you are picking your preferred ones from this selection, but it isn't quite the same wealth of options as a visit to Gray Nics for example.

Not meant to be inflammatory, just a few points I'm wondering about as an interested spectator.

ItsJustCricket · « **Reply #26 on:** October 15, 2015, 09:11:03 PM »

Quote from: Vitas Cricket on October 15, 2015, 09:03:27 PM

Honestly haven't ever felt the need to send a GM back for not being up to standard. I'm sure GM would not only be happy to assist in rectifying, but would be mortified at the 'mistake'

It's an interesting approach this one Paul, gotta commend you for going down this route. For me hand-picking is very important from certain brands, GM really isn't one of them though.

Would love to say yes we hand-pick every bat we sell, of course it is impossible if we want to offer a relevant, varied range.

Surprised Adidas allow hand-picking, admittedly I've never asked as we've never ordered a bat from them. As an aside, I don't think they are Sondhi made anymore?

Also, regarding 100% hand-picking, going forward Kookaburra do not allow the hand-picking of their lower grades, there still needs to be some clarity over exactly which models are excluded but I assume you won't be ordering those?

CA and SF intrigues me, neither have official distributors in this country, certainly nothing on a par with the distributors of TON. I'm sure they are a bit more professional than a chap with some bats in the boot of his car (we've had a couple of those recently trying to flog us CA's!) but ultimately are carrying a fairly small amount of stock sent over from the subcontinent. Of course you are picking your preferred ones from this selection, but it isn't quite the same wealth of options as a visit to Gray Nics for example.

Not meant to be inflammatory, just a few points I'm wondering about as an interested spectator.

Completely understand that about Kooks. We knew this and we will be making our Kookaburra bats reflect the availability of hand-picking in the Kooks range.

Adidas were very insistent on inviting us to handpick, they apparently have a very large, and decent set up. I was led to believe it was Sondhi but if I'm wrong then apologies - although the point still stands.

With CA and SF - our distributor generally brings 5 bats for every one that we take - which is clearly still a very good selection!

With regards to the GM one - that may be the case. We wouldn't be the biggest order, far from it, and so would likely be subject to having the leftovers. Not only that, but come the end of the season, manufacturers have a vested interest in getting rid of the old (technically current) stock, and so they have to send out whatever is left, which has not been seen as good enough previously during the year. Whereas, with handpicking, we can take the best of the best throughout the year. Perhaps you may not think it is worth it, but we absolutely buy into the handpicking and that is seen throughout our range.

Vitas Cricket · « **Reply #27 on:** October 15, 2015, 09:26:51 PM »

Quote from: ItsJustCricket on October 15, 2015, 09:11:03 PM

Completely understand that about Kooks. We knew this and we will be making our Kookaburra bats reflect the availability of hand-picking in the Kooks range.

Adidas were very insistent on inviting us to handpick, they apparently have a very large, and decent set up. I was led to believe it was Sondhi but if I'm wrong then apologies - although the point still stands.

With CA and SF - our distributor generally brings 5 bats for every one that we take - which is clearly still a very good selection!

With regards to the GM one - that may be the case. We wouldn't be the biggest order, far from it, and so would likely be subject to having the leftovers. Not only that, but come the end of the season, manufacturers have a vested interest in getting rid of the old (technically current) stock, and so they have to send out whatever is left, which has not been seen as good enough previously during the year. Whereas, with handpicking, we can take the best of the best throughout the year. Perhaps you may not think it is worth it, but we absolutely buy into the handpicking and that is seen throughout our range.

My understanding is Adidas is Sareen made now, the rep who visited us in the Summer said so, certainly the softs smack of Sareen. Interesting to hear the wanted you to come, might be one to consider going forward.

Can't say I'm that pleased about the Kookaburra policy but I understand and respect it.

See, this is where i think you are looking at GM all wrong. It doesn't get to June or July and GM only have old stock that has been sat there for months like a brand who relies on 2 or 3 drops from India. They are CONSTANTLY making bats. Bats available in April and May were probably made in March, equally the bats we will receive in the coming weeks will be from a production run intended to satisfy pre Christmas stock orders. Their stockpile of willow is huge and they get deliveries regularly, meaning a constant turnover of comparable quality, not an end of season dip like i completely agree can happen with many other brands.

Not wanting to derail your thread and ram GM down anyones neck, just my opinion on the matter.

ItsJustCricket · « **Reply #28 on:** October 16, 2015, 12:41:20 AM »

Quote from: Vitas Cricket on October 15, 2015, 09:26:51 PM

My understanding is Adidas is Sareen made now, the rep who visited us in the Summer said so, certainly the softs smack of Sareen. Interesting to hear the wanted you to come, might be one to consider going forward.

Can't say I'm that pleased about the Kookaburra policy but I understand and respect it.

See, this is where i think you are looking at GM all wrong. It doesn't get to June or July and GM only have old stock that has been sat there for months like a brand who relies on 2 or 3 drops from India. They are CONSTANTLY making bats. Bats available in April and May were probably made in March, equally the bats we will receive in the coming weeks will be from a production run intended to satisfy pre Christmas stock orders. Their stockpile of willow is huge and they get deliveries regularly, meaning a constant turnover of comparable quality, not an end of season dip like i completely agree can happen with many other brands.

Not wanting to derail your thread and ram GM down anyones neck, just my opinion on the matter.

Jake, as we acknowledged earlier in the posts, or certainly in the other thread, we believe GM to be high quality bats. But what happened if you wanted to send 15 or 20 of them back, as we often reject well over 30 when we are at GN? Simply cannot be done, and would definitely damage the relationship with GM and yourselves. I personally tried to persuade Paul to stock them on this basis, but he has emotional and moral reasons not to, and fair enough if you want to stick to commercial reasons - that's your prerogative and you will do well out of our decision I would suggest. Like I said, we know GM to be a great, great brand, and I like them very much, but they don't fit with our ethos, and surely in business that has to mean something? So whilst we respect your decision to stock them, I suspect we will stick to our guns on this one!

InternalTraining · « **Reply #29 on:** October 16, 2015, 03:11:59 AM »

Good call, Paul! I like your list of brands. I own some of those brands and those bats are top notch.

Author Topic: The IJC Philosophy - Which Brands Make the Cut for 2016? (Read 21525 times)

simonmay5

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GarrettJ

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ItsJustCricket

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ItsJustCricket

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tommo256

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ItsJustCricket

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simonmay5

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ItsJustCricket

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simonmay5

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ItsJustCricket

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Vitas Cricket

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ItsJustCricket

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Vitas Cricket

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ItsJustCricket

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InternalTraining

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