Just 7 days until new kits unveiled
The AFC Wimbledon merchandise team have had a particularly busy time after Wembley success and our dedicated volunteers are working hard to make it a successful kit launch next Sunday.
Following the open-top bus parade of the League 2 Play-Off Trophy in Wimbledon town centre, a catwalk show featuring first-teamers, academy players and AFC Wimbledon Ladies and Girls will unveil the kits in style.
This will take place at approximately 12 noon (outside Monsoon on the upper level of the Centre Court Shopping Centre) and new kits will be available to buy afterwards.
The new Admiral home and away kits will be launched, along with goalkeeper and training kits.
Following the result at Wembley and promotion to League One, we are looking forward to another great year in the shop. The profits from sales boost the first team squad and success breeds success. We are always amazed at the continuous level of support across the world from our supporters and it makes the voluntary work we do very worthwhile.” Gerry Hever, a member of our merchandise team, said: “It promises to be another huge day in the heart of our community.
The new kit will be on sale afterwards in the AFC Wimbledon pop-up shop on the upper level of the Centre Court Shopping Centre.
Even before Neal Ardley’s men booked a place at Wembley, our merchandise team were putting plans in place to make a fantastic range of products available to supporters.
Below Gerry takes us through a really busy summer for him and the team:
If you thought the merchandise team had gone on holiday until the next home match, you can think again! From the moment we knew there was a chance we could be in the Play-Off Final, we started on designs for memorabilia to celebrate the occasion. We were three days behind Plymouth in knowing that the club was Wembley-bound, but as soon as the final whistle was blown at Accrington, we were placing orders with manufacturers who could deliver in time.
The online shop was populated, ready to go live as soon as we had images. We had T-shirts in a range of colours and scarves. We put the products live on the Monday before the Wembley Final without having any products, knowing that we had to get any orders dispatched by Friday if fans were to have any chance of wearing them on the day. Meanwhile a pop-up shop had been arranged in the Centre Court Shopping Centre, decorated and racked out ready for products we didn't have.
Expectations were fast exceeding our early estimates so top-up orders were placed with manufacturers. By Tuesday morning we had over 300 online orders and only our existing products, which were selling out fast. The excitement for the game was building to fever pitch and the pop-up shop was ready to open on the Wednesday morning.
Fortunately, the T-shirts and scarves arrived Tuesday afternoon so we were able to start picking stock for the online orders and stocking the Centre Court store. By Wednesday we still had not received enough flags or sticks. This was starting to impact on mail orders, which had now reached over 600!
we closed the pop-up shop late Sunday afternoon, having cleared virtually all of our stock and we were looking forward to the main event the following day. four days, Business in Wimbledon was brisk and at Kingsmeadow we were working to a 48-hour deadline to get orders out on time. After a hugely successful
We had already started designing and planning for the ‘unthinkable’, while looking forward to a deserved rest. The superb victory at Wembley earned promotion, meaning that putting our feet up was not an option! On the Tuesday evening we met to talk through 'Winners' products we needed to make available to supporters.
There was another deadline to meet in the form of the annual Wimbledon Village Fair. Thankfully, the products arrived in good time. We managed to put on sale navy Play-Off winners T-shirts and embroidered polo shirts in adult, slim fit ladies, and also youth sizes, which we were unable to do before the play-offs. Winners scarves are also available, along with Play-off T-shirts in royal blue in all sizes (due to demand from those who missed out prior to Wembley). We received a great response from supporters and sales were once again higher than expected. All of these products are available online.
With the Dons in League One next season, we are expecting another busy campaign as the club endeavours to meet growing demand from all over the world. Keep supporting us and Come on you Dons!
.http://wimbledonheritage.co.uk/shop/?fls=1 Visit the club shop on matchdays or purchase online via the official site at