Why we believe football merchandising should start with the club – and how dekoGraphics and r-pac can help.
Anyone working in football merchandising knows how many different companies are involved. From kit suppliers and manufacturers to merchandising agencies, logistics partners and fan shops.
Each partner has its own role, and in many areas, things already work well. But with so many companies involved, it can be worth looking beyond individual responsibilities. There may be ways to simplify processes, develop better products together or create new opportunities for clubs and their fans.
This is something we've been thinking about a lot at dekoGraphics over the past few months.
Working together with r-pac gives us access to a much wider range of expertise and capabilities. This means we can support clubs not only with individual products, but also with bigger challenges across their merchandising business.
We don't want to replace existing partners. **Quite the opposite.** We want to work with them to develop solutions that make sense for the club.
Because we believe football merchandising should be organised around the club, not individual suppliers.
Different partners bring different strengths
Let's look at who's involved in bringing a merchandise collection to life.
Kit suppliers take care of teamwear, brand standards and quality. Merchandising agencies develop additional products and work with different manufacturers. Production and branding partners turn designs into finished products and make sure they meet the required standards.
Logistics companies handle storage and deliveries, while retailers and fan shops sell the products. Marketing agencies and sponsors develop campaigns and activities to connect with fans.
Each partner knows its own area and brings valuable experience. But there are also many areas where their responsibilities overlap.
For example, stock in the warehouse and fan shop isn't always managed through the same systems. Or product information that's already available during manufacturing may not be accessible to everyone later on.
It's also worth thinking beyond individual responsibilities during product development. If a club knows early on that it wants to use its shirts for digital fan experiences, this can already be considered during the development stage.
Of course, many clubs and their partners already have good processes in place. But there are often opportunities to make collaboration easier or get more out of existing solutions.
What if we started with the club's goals?
As a product supplier, you normally receive a specific request. A club needs new badges, a particular branding technique or support with developing a merchandise collection.
We look at the requirements, develop a suitable solution and deliver the product. That's how we've worked for many years, and it will remain an important part of our business.
But through our collaboration with r-pac, we can now support clubs in other areas too.
Maybe a club wants to develop a new merchandise collection and needs additional production options. Perhaps stocktaking in the warehouse or fan shop takes too much time. Or the club wants to protect its products against counterfeiting and offer new digital experiences to its fans.
In these situations, looking at just one product isn't always enough. It helps to first understand what the club wants to achieve, which partners are already involved and what solutions are already in place.
From there, we can explore together how our products, experience and the additional capabilities of r-pac could help.
Sometimes this leads to a new product solution. In other cases, it's more about technology, software or improving how different partners work together.
Technology creates new opportunities
A good example is CONNECTED MERCHANDISE.
RFID can help clubs record stock more quickly and make stocktaking easier. NFC and QR codes can connect shirts and other merchandise with digital content. There are also interesting applications for product authentication, traceability and Digital Product Passports.
But not every club needs these technologies. And even if a solution sounds interesting, it still needs to fit the club's existing processes.
For example, an RFID system won't be very useful if the information it collects can't be used properly afterwards. In the same way, a digital fan experience needs good content and a clear purpose if fans are going to use it.
That's why we don't start with the technology. We start with the challenge it should solve.
We've explained how RFID, NFC and QR codes can be used in football merchandising in more detail in our article CONNECTED MERCHANDISE: LESS WORK. MORE CONTROL. MORE POSSIBILITIES FOR YOUR CLUB [INTERACTIVE TOOL].
Not every club needs the same solution
One club might simply want to make stocktaking easier. In that case, adding RFID stickers to existing products and using suitable readers could be a good starting point.
Another club may be planning a new merchandise collection and need support with sourcing, production, branding or packaging. Others might want to use NFC or QR codes to offer additional digital content to their fans.
Every club has different needs. That's why we don't want to offer one complete solution that looks the same for everyone.
Instead, we can combine different products, services and technologies depending on what's needed. This modular approach allows clubs to start with one specific area and expand into others later.
We're also happy to work with the partners a club already has. After all, they often know their processes and responsibilities better than anyone else.
It's not about doing everything ourselves. It's about finding the right solution together.
What can dekoGraphics and r-pac bring together?
For more than 30 years, we've been working with sportswear branding at dekoGraphics. Club badges, names, numbers, labels and special heat-transfer techniques are part of our everyday business.
We understand the requirements of football clubs, kit suppliers and other partners, and we know how important quality, reliability and good collaboration are.
Through r-pac, we now have access to additional expertise in global sourcing and production, labels, packaging, RFID technology, software, logistics and inventory management.
This means we can support clubs with projects that go beyond our traditional product business. And together with their existing partners, we can help develop solutions that consider different parts of the merchandising process.
Our products and experience remain the foundation. But today, we can build on them in many more ways.
This is where we see our next step: We want to move beyond supplying individual products and work with r-pac and our partners to support football clubs with broader merchandising challenges.
Because we believe successful football merchandising goes beyond a single product or supplier. What matters is how well everything works together.
Discover what's possible for your club
There may be areas in your club where processes could be simpler or new opportunities could be explored.
Whether it's product development, inventory management, fan shop operations or digital fan experiences, we're happy to explore together with r-pac which solutions could work for your club.
If you're particularly interested in the digital opportunities, our interactive CONNECTED MERCHANDISE EXPLORERshows how RFID, NFC and QR codes could help your club.
Your club. Your goals. The right solutions.
