2023 New Kits, Sponsors and Suppliers

[Damien]

14 minutes ago, Ragingbull said:

OXEN is ISC

Are they? They don't seem like it because the difference is like the difference between night and day.

[Tommygilf]

Just now, DI Keith Fowler said:

Are they? I thought they were the Xblades UK distributer who went solo when Xblades pulled out. 

They were the ISC distributor (eventually) too, amongst other brands.

It seems most clubs were signed up to ISC directly though whereas Oxen replaced XBlades simultaneously (or in Cas' case was called "Club Castleford"). By the final year of ISC in the UK, 2020, how many ISC clubs were there in Super League? Leeds? Wakey?

[Damien]

4 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

They were the ISC distributor (eventually) too, amongst other brands.

It seems most clubs were signed up to ISC directly though whereas Oxen replaced XBlades simultaneously (or in Cas' case was called "Club Castleford"). By the final year of ISC in the UK, 2020, how many ISC clubs were there in Super League? Leeds? Wakey?

Catalans were too.

[Tommygilf]

Just now, Damien said:

Are they? They don't seem like it because the difference is like the difference between night and day.

Elite Pro Sports had the production and distribution rights/licences by the end. EPS however have gone ahead with the Xblades style/manufacture quality through their in house Oxen brand. Indeed I don't even know if the switch to Oxen from XBlades even was announced as new deals because they weren't (effectively). Cas, HKR and Gloucester RU were affected first I believe.

[Tommygilf]

I believe Sheffield Eagles are reverting to ONeills for next season

[DI Keith Fowler]

9 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

They were the ISC distributor (eventually) too, amongst other brands.

It seems most clubs were signed up to ISC directly though whereas Oxen replaced XBlades simultaneously (or in Cas' case was called "Club Castleford"). By the final year of ISC in the UK, 2020, how many ISC clubs were there in Super League? Leeds? Wakey?

Makes sense, yeah I remember the Club Castleford thing I think they did a similar thing for Doncaster football club. Both times got dropped after a year or two. 

I have nothing in principle against a new upstart taking over a load of clubs and doing their kits, but I'm just not taken with anything they do.

At Widnes we had O'Neill's for years, in fact we were the first RL club to have them (as we were with Kooga incidentally). With them you didn't get stitching, the same printed designs but the designs themselves felt a bit more premium and thought out. Oxen designs always feel a bit cheap, they've gone for a clean lines approach on home kits generally but lack those little design touches O'Neill's put in. Stitching the badge doesn't make it a premium product. 

[topcentre21]

Oxen just seems a cheap Chinese mass produced gimmick.

I liked ISC products you could feel the difference in quality.

 

[Ragingbull]

46 minutes ago, DI Keith Fowler said:

Are they? I thought they were the Xblades UK distributer who went solo when Xblades pulled out. 

My mistake.  It was xblades youre correct.  I believe they did also have something to do with ISC as well but it was xblades i was thinking of. 

Apologies 

 

[Ragingbull]

36 minutes ago, Damien said:

Are they? They don't seem like it because the difference is like the difference between night and day.

Apologies ive mixed up xblades and ISC.  Someone has kindly corrected me.

[DI Keith Fowler]

Just now, Ragingbull said:

My mistake.  It was xblades youre correct.  I believe they did also have something to do with ISC as well but it was xblades i was thinking of. 

Apologies 

 

I wouldn't apologise! Tommygilf has confirmed they ended up distributer for both, you were correct. 

[EastLondonMike]

1 hour ago, DI Keith Fowler said:

TBF ISC have given up on Australian RL as well they're winding down any contracts they have.

I like the Hummel stuff, I wear Hummel trainers quite often and have a bit of a soft spot for them prior to them getting into RL.

In recent years when we had Puma it was Puma licensed rather than Puma produced (I think the firm was called Genesis or something like that). 

I'd very much like to see a centralised kit deal a la MLS with a bigger brand (than Oxen) who can distribute merchandise to a wider range of retailers, rather than err.. just the club shop. I think Hummel, New Balance or Castore wouldn't be out of the realms for a centralised all-ish RL deal (Home nations, referees kits and SL teams). I know people will say it doesn't matter but I think it's one of those intangibles that gives the game credibility in TV and media, seeing brands people are somewhat familiar with. 

Just as a point of reference, Genesis were /are 100% owned by Puma, and now operate as Puma Teamwear. So everything they did was done to the same high standards as teamwear produced out of Puma HQ in Germany.

Incidentally one of the senior members of Puma teamwear is ex-st.Helen’s GM Russ Thomas.

There’s possibilities for RL in the Uk with Puma, but we have to be much more profitable and attractive before that partnership would be possible.

They’re doing pretty good in Aus with NSW, QLD and a number of NRL players.

Castore could also be an option. Probably just a matter of time before they dip their toe in the RL pool in the UK.

[Madrileño]

1 hour ago, EastLondonMike said:

Just as a point of reference, Genesis were /are 100% owned by Puma, and now operate as Puma Teamwear. So everything they did was done to the same high standards as teamwear produced out of Puma HQ in Germany.

Interesting.  Did Puma buy them at some point?

Reason I ask is because Genesis used to also produce kit under a different brand: kit@

Warrington wore kit@ gear in the early 2000s and it was extremely high quality. I still have a couple of items at home. Really good gear. They later switched to Puma labelled gear under the same Genesis deal. Did Puma always own them?

[EastLondonMike]

9 hours ago, Madrileño said:

Interesting.  Did Puma buy them at some point?

Reason I ask is because Genesis used to also produce kit under a different brand: kit@

Warrington wore kit@ gear in the early 2000s and it was extremely high quality. I still have a couple of items at home. Really good gear. They later switched to Puma labelled gear under the same Genesis deal. Did Puma always own them?

Not always. Initially Genesis were a separate company who had the Puma license in the UK for non-professional football/sports kits. Puma then took a controlling share in the company as they prospered, they then bought them 100% and renamed them Puma Teamwear, and they now handle all Eeuropean (i think) football clubs that don't have a direct contractual association with Puma. Puma only actually work directly with a handful of football clubs, the rest are supplied via the likes of Teamwear (Genesis).

Puma acquired Genesis 100% when Leicester looked like winning the league, as at the time Leicester didn't have a direct deal with Puma, just Teamwear (Genesis), and Puma wanted that kudos of having the league winners on board.

Puma actually own a number of companies who provide a particular apparel or accessories service.

I've often thought a deal for all teams with Puma Teamwear would be a good link up for SL. I think the benefits for such a link up are quite obvious. If Puma link up with any NRL teams in the coming seasons, off the back of their successes with NSW and QLD, it might become more of a possibility. And as i mentioned, there is a historic and current RL connection with senior management there.

[Chrispmartha]

12 hours ago, EastLondonMike said:

Just as a point of reference, Genesis were /are 100% owned by Puma, and now operate as Puma Teamwear. So everything they did was done to the same high standards as teamwear produced out of Puma HQ in Germany.

Incidentally one of the senior members of Puma teamwear is ex-st.Helen’s GM Russ Thomas.

There’s possibilities for RL in the Uk with Puma, but we have to be much more profitable and attractive before that partnership would be possible.

They’re doing pretty good in Aus with NSW, QLD and a number of NRL players.

Castore could also be an option. Probably just a matter of time before they dip their toe in the RL pool in the UK.

Id love Castore to get involved with RL (especially with the Rhinos) their gear does look quality - I was in London last week and didn't expect to see a trendy Castore store near Harrods!

[Jughead]

I was in the Newcastle United shop before Magic last year and a rugby league fan was moaning about the cost of some Castore product. Based on that, get them in. 

[EastLondonMike]

4 minutes ago, Chrispmartha said:

Id love Castore to get involved with RL (especially with the Rhinos) their gear does look quality - I was in London last week and didn't expect to see a trendy Castore store near Harrods!

Castore are a bit of a funny one. They do some good product, like you say. Quality is top notch. But as an organisation they are a bit all over the place currently. They are growing VERY quickly. A bit too quick I think.

But thats not a reason to not want to partner with them. They want to be the best, and do have a certain determination to achieve that.

The store down here in London is purely a marketing exercise, as are most flagship stores in capital cities, and not a sign of any real successes. It's about exposure and being able to say 'heres our London flagship store!'. Physical stores in London are a money pit, even for the big boys like Nike, Adi and Puma.

[SalfordSlim]

On 02/10/2022 at 07:41, Gomersall said:

 

Love kit that. Excellent work!

Not a fan of the HKR one TBH, looks more Fleetwood Town/Rotherham Utd.

[Jughead]

Saints release their 2023 kits on 5th November. 

[jacobus]

https://www.eliteprosports.co.uk/news/?fbclid=IwAR0INR6MDW2d1z4ZsWSuX2LExV6aVlxUSHTvOM9FNDRkfOoK0cAurTkF1TU

 

some of you lot will be suspected ! 

[Eddie]

14 hours ago, Tommygilf said:

I believe Sheffield Eagles are reverting to ONeills for next season

Great news that, looking forward to wearing a decent Eagles jersey (that is available to buy) next summer. 

[hunsletgreenandgold]

9 minutes ago, jacobus said:

https://www.eliteprosports.co.uk/news/?fbclid=IwAR0INR6MDW2d1z4ZsWSuX2LExV6aVlxUSHTvOM9FNDRkfOoK0cAurTkF1TU

 

some of you lot will be suspected ! 

Christ - that'll be 6 more ranges of training gear next season to recover the costs. 

I jest of course. This isn't good for any business. I hope they have good insurance! 

[Jughead]

Saints badge for 2023. 

[EastLondonMike]

1 hour ago, hunsletgreenandgold said:

Christ - that'll be 6 more ranges of training gear next season to recover the costs. 

I jest of course. This isn't good for any business. I hope they have good insurance! 

Im sure the thieves will return the product when they've seen the quality.

[Chrispmartha]

Will be interesting if any leaked images come out of the new kits!

[tuutaisrambo]

3 hours ago, EastLondonMike said:

Castore are a bit of a funny one. They do some good product, like you say. Quality is top notch. But as an organisation they are a bit all over the place currently. They are growing VERY quickly. A bit too quick I think.

But thats not a reason to not want to partner with them. They want to be the best, and do have a certain determination to achieve that.

The store down here in London is purely a marketing exercise, as are most flagship stores in capital cities, and not a sign of any real successes. It's about exposure and being able to say 'heres our London flagship store!'. Physical stores in London are a money pit, even for the big boys like Nike, Adi and Puma.

There's a twitter account called @shoddy_castore which documents all the failings of the brand since it became the kit supplier for Newcastle United and it's safe to say they've had quite a few issues since they switched from Puma.