Author: Alexa Gandy

adidas has officially announced their partnership with Specialist Sports Creation (SSC), part of the Specialist Sports Group, to become the global licensee for adidas Rugby teamwear and hard goods.

The partnership will establish SSC as the global licensee for adidas Rugby teamwear, fanwear, and hard goods beginning on July 1st, 2023. In alignment with adidas, SSC will create and manufacture new product designs, as well as managing the global product supply.

SSC will be working with premium distributors in key global markets to bring the product to the consumer, including grassroots, from amateur to professional clubs.

Building on adidas’ strong heritage in Rugby, SSC will expand its presence within amateur and grassroots Rugby, with an increased focus on the creation of women’s product.

Rob Hutchison, Category Director Rugby, Specialist Sports:

“The team at SSC can’t wait to build on the unrivalled brand heritage of adidas within the sport of rugby. adidas has been at the forefront of rugby product with constant innovation in jersey and footwear technology. SSC will be expanding the offering of products for clubs and players from the grassroots to the top tiers of professional rugby. We want to ensure that rugby players, at every level on a global scale can own the advantage of adidas rugby product for their team.”

Matthew Fielding, Category Director, Field & Podium Sports, adidas:

“adidas has a very proud history in rugby and we are extremely excited to look to the future in the sport with SSC as our global licensee. It is important for us to share our innovation and technology with the best athletes and teams around the world and with SSC we have the right partner to bring this vision to life across all global rugby markets. We believe that rugby is built from its grassroots up and not only will this new partnership enable us to reach many more rugby players at all levels but also allow us to focus on growing areas in women’s and youth rugby.”

Specialist Sports has signed a distribution agreement with Groupe Magellan for the distribution of Prince Tennis and Squash in the UK and Ireland. Groupe Magellan is the official licensee for Prince Tennis and Squash and has great experience in the distribution and production of high-performance sporting goods in Europe. Specialist Sports and Groupe Magellan will work collaboratively to support the partnership with Prince, beginning in April 2022.

“Specialist Sports is delighted to be partnering with Groupe Magellan for the distribution of Prince Tennis and Squash, to propel our racket categories further. Prince is an exciting brand to have on board, due to its incredible heritage and continued product innovation. We are looking forward to growing our businesses together.” Max Holloway, Category Director – Racket Sports, Specialist Sports

“In order to better service and grow our network in the UK and Ireland, we decided to partner with Specialist Sports, a strong and well-established company recognised for reliability, whom we share performance and customer service values with. Specialist Sports makes an ideal addition to our list of distribution partners.” Christophe Michon, European Commercial Director – Racket Sports, Groupe Magellan

Designing a stand and attending an expo takes an organised and creative team. After attending multiple expos with our Specialist Sports team, we understand the key ways to make our attendance at these as successful as possible. Read our tips to learn more:

Create an Engaging Stand Design

To attract customers to your stand, it should be engaging and align with your overall marketing goals. Highlighting key offers and promotions for example, is an easy way to draw customers onto your stand, if the offer is clear and easily visible.

Working with an event stand designer or a team who has knowledge in events and exhibitions might also help you to consider how you can make your stand work functionally. You might need a changing room if you are selling apparel, or a standing area available when there are high volumes of customers visiting.

Assemble the Right Team

The right team, with the right skills, will help make the running of your event smooth. You will need team members with a mixture of skills including product knowledge, customer service skills, and creativity (for capturing imagery and managing social media).

Prepare Your Teams

The team attending the expo weekend will not necessarily be involved with the planning and preparation required beforehand. In which case, communication about all aspects of the show is imperative to ensure all team members running it are well-prepared ahead of the event.

A document including logistics, roles and responsibilities, and product information will help your team understand everything they need to know about the event and your expectations of them.

A prep call or meeting is a great way to answer any questions your team members may have and ensure they’re absolutely clear about the expo ahead.

Meeting before the expo opens and finishes each day will give your team members the opportunity to raise any questions they have too.

Be Active on Social

Engaging your audience before, during, and after the event will remind attendees of your presence at the expo. Any offers or giveaways should be communicated to increase engagement as well as your event stand location so you’re easy to find.

Find an Innovative Payment Solution

It’s important to find the right payment solution which provides a seamless experience for your customers. We recommend using a mobile solution, which enables all team members to take payments from their own devices – meaning you don’t have a traditional till system where only one customer can be served at a time.

A cashless, dematerialised payment system makes payments quick and easy. You can send receipts direct to customer’s email addresses or mobiles, making the whole process paperless and quick.

Find out more about Square Payment Solution we use here.

Creating value from your attendance, whether that be capturing contacts, achieving revenue, or increasing awareness requires organisation and planning. Being prepared for any event will put you in the best position to be able to achieve your goals.

Learn more about our activation at The National Running Show here.

To remain competitive today, businesses across all industries need to integrate sustainability practices into their business strategies. Expectations on businesses have grown. The ‘knowing’ but not ‘doing’ is just not good enough anymore. Simply put, good intentions aren’t enough.

As a business, we understand the need to make changes and improvements in our approach to operate in a more sustainable environment.

Learn more about the steps we are making:

Cycle to Work Scheme

The Cycle to Work Scheme is a government-led initiative that gives employees the opportunity to save 25-39% on a bike of their choice to cycle to work. Not only does this benefit employees as it gives them a cost-saving opportunity, but it promotes a healthy lifestyle and reduces CO2 emissions too.

It’s a sustainable commuter option which, according to CycleScheme, saves 133,442 tonnes of CO2 emissions every year as workers swap their cars for bikes.

For more information, please visit www.cyclescheme.com

Electric Car Chargers & Electric Car Salary Sacrifice

We have a sustainable option for those who would prefer to travel by car, too. We’ve introduced the Electric Car Salary Sacrifice Scheme, to give employees the opportunity to make the move to electric. The salary sacrifice makes this more financially viable as employees pay for their EV lease directly through their earnings.

With electric car chargers installed on the premises, employees can easily recharge at work too. We understand that this isn’t always an option for everyone to do at home, so installing chargers on-site means everyone has an equal opportunity to benefit from the scheme.

For more information about the Salary Sacrifice Scheme, please visit www.wevee.uk/salary-sacrifice-car-scheme

Reusing Packaging Waste

Reducing packaging waste helps save money and the environment, which is why it is a key priority for our operations team. Plenty of cardboard boxes come into the warehouse and go back out to package orders. Instead of using fresh new boxes to package them, we reuse boxes that are still in good condition and able to re-send.

Our operations team is tasked to reuse packaging where possible, and this is observed by our operations management team. Alongside this, shipments are consolidated where possible and paper tape is used on all packages.

Energy-Efficient Lighting

To improve our lighting efficiency in our head offices, we installed PIR lighting sensors, which are motion-activated lights. Using motion-activated lights ensures lighting is only used when needed, enabling us to reduce the amount of energy used every day.

We understand making small changes can make a big difference, which is why we are always seeking new ways to make improvements and educate our team.