Castore – Thoughts So Far & Online Availability V Rangers Store Exclusives

Lord Summerisle

Lord Summerisle

Administrator
Staff member
I’ll start by saying there’s much to admire about our partnership with Castore.

The quality of the items I have, and have seen, are superb.

And, let’s not forgot, the most important thing of all – we’re 100% free from Mike Ashley’s clutches.

However, I’m getting really fucked off with nothing being available online.

Is Rangers Store exclusive a euphemism for we’re unable to meet our stock commitments?

Castore deserve many plaudits... but, for me, the lack of availability online is very poor – particularly for a challenger company that prides itself on being digitally native.

I also believe stock levels in the store at Ibrox leave a lot to be desired.

We have a worldwide fanbase absolutely desperate to part with their money.

We need Castore to meet this desire – and as soon as possible.

The Castore guys seems very happy to chat to the fans, so I’d be really interested to hear from Castore and/or the club about when they’ll be able to provide a level of service that adequately meet fans’ demands.

As I said, there’s so much to be happy about with this deal – but let’s not be afraid to call it out when things aren’t good enough.

And, in my opinion, Castore have seriously been found wanting when it comes to the subject of stock availability, particularly online.

Let’s hope there’s a big improvement in this area before too long...
 
The stuff is brilliant, the best for years and years but they don’t yet have the infrastructure to support the Rangers fans demands.

This was the most common concern for most when the deal was announced.
 
The online stock has been garbage tbh.

I'm not going to be down in Glasgow any time soon so can't get to the Rangers store.

Can't get the top for my four year old daughter plus various training gear I would buy.

Also returned an item via Hermes almost two weeks ago and still no refund.
 
Foolish to fire ahead with further product launches when there are missing/cancelled orders from the home top.

A half arsed store only 3rd kit launch is terrible for a club like ours.

Altogether, 3 kits in 8 days or so given all that is going on seems a bit gung-ho.

The priority should be resolving outstanding orders asap and getting the online shop fit for purpose, given that it is the number 1 source of income, merch wise.

There will be teething problems, but honesty, clarity and action from Castore will go a long way.
 
Have vented my frustration on my missing pre-order on other threads, customer service is a disgrace.
On the plus side, bought the Hagi hoodie in store and very impressed with the quality of that, 1/4 zip grey & orange training top is quality too.
Customer service diabolical, quality of goods (so far) excellent. Hopefully the former can be seriously improved upon.
 
Totally agree. Having people queueing outside a shop for hours to go in and find availability as it is isnt good enough.

As I said on the other thread the castore guys were all across the fan media when the deal was announced, now when fans want to hear from them they are nowhere. Not being able to buy a top for my 2 year old son is piss poor.
 
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You're just desperate for a Garcia hoodie!

In all seriousness I agree - I've bought the home and away top and would buy the third top if available. I've always found it a bit mental how Rangers dont take more advantage of the fact folk are willing to throw money at them (although I appreciate in this case its Castore not Rangers)
 
I got my pre-ordered top as promised but having read the experiences of some posters, I'm holding off on ordering anything else online until they sort the issues. I feel for the guys who haven't received their goods and are being fobbed off.
 
No doubt we’ve made a lot of money so far but I’d bet we’re in danger of losing a lot of money too. Things started well but it seems like there are more and more complaints popping up now.
 
If everything was available online and the stock levels kept at a good level in store, the ques would be even bigger and the club/castore would make an absolute killing compared to the already impressive sales figures. The orange training t-shirt is one of the best training pieces we’ve ever had and it’s frustrating that it’s impossible to buy just now. It’s also frustrating that’s our home shirt has been unavailable online for a bit of time now. The famous blue jersey should always be available to buy. I also think all kits should be available down to newborn infants. Castore probably not used to making clothes for infants but the Rangers support would purchase these in droves. I imagine the Hummel infant kits sold well. We bought them all and the quality and likeness to the adult kits was excellent.
 
lovenkrands72 said:
You're just desperate for a Garcia hoodie!

In all seriousness I agree - I've bought the home and away top and would buy the third top if available. I've always found it a bit mental how Rangers dont take more advantage of the fact folk are willing to throw money at them (although I appreciate in this case its Castore not Rangers)
Click to expand...

Ha, you’re right.

I’ve since decided that, since I can’t get one, I’m gonna get a normal Garcia hoodie instead.

Only problem is the grey and black one I want with the big wings only goes up to XL and I need an XXL.

Couldn’t make it up!
 
Taytos said:
If everything was available online and the stock levels kept at a good level in store, the ques would be even bigger and the club/castore would make an absolute killing compared to the already impressive sales figures. The orange training t-shirt is one of the best training pieces we’ve ever had and it’s frustrating that it’s impossible to buy just now. It’s also frustrating that’s our home shirt has been unavailable online for a bit of time now. The famous blue jersey should always be available to buy.
Click to expand...

But you can get it on Sports Direct or House of Fraser.
 
sherbrook_loyal said:
I’ll start by saying there’s much to admire about our partnership with Castore.

The quality of the items I have, and have seen, are superb.

And, let’s not forgot, the most important thing of all – we’re 100% free from Mike Ashley’s clutches.

However, I’m getting really fucked off with nothing being available online.

Is Rangers Store exclusive a euphuism for we’re unable to meet our stock commitments?

Castore deserve many plaudits – but, for me, the lack of availability online is very poor.

I also believe stock levels in the store at Ibrox leave a lot to be desired.

We have a worldwide fanbase absolutely desperate to part with their money.

We need Castore to meet this desire – and as soon as possible.

The Castore guys seems very happy to chat to the fans, so I’d be really interested to hear from Castore and/or the club about when they’ll be able to provide a level of service that adequately meet fans’ demands.

As I said, there’s so much to be happy about with this deal – but let’s not be afraid to call it out when things aren’t good enough.

And, in my opinion, Castore have seriously been found wanting when it comes to the subject of stock availability, particularly online.

Let’s hope there’s a big improvement in this area before too long...
Click to expand...
Agreed. Online store almost empty. And my main bugbear right now, no sign of strips for age 5-6 or 6-7, which is frankly rubbish.
 
Let’s face it, a small company which offers only high end sports wear were always going to struggle with the weight of demand particularly in the current climate.
Perhaps they have been distracted by the demand for a ‘range’ of items, rather than the category basics of ensuring everyone who wants the Home and Away shirt can actually purchase one, in the size they want, online or in person.

I personally think they can turn this around though.
 
Quality of the strips and clothing seems to be very good.

The customer service side of it has been poor though and it’s becoming evident they don’t have the infrastructure in place to meet the demand from a club our size.

I got a pretty pathetic email today to tell me they could not fulfil my order for the top I ordered, even though the top is still showing as available online.

Seems quite a few folk are in the same boat.
 
They're clearly not set up to deal with a customer the size of Rangers FC.

Catering for a smaller club or some Andy Murray fans is one thing, but this is Rangers - we sold out their entire stock run on almost the first day.

They say they're ready for a partnership with us, but they've clearly been caught on the hop. Of the 100,000 tops they claim to have sold - how many never arrived or are being refunded ?
 
The very things they said they could handle.

theredwhiteandblue said:
Let’s face it, a small company which offers only high end sports wear were always going to struggle with the weight of demand particularly in the current climate.
Perhaps they have been distracted by the demand for a ‘range’ of items, rather than the category basics of ensuring everyone who wants the Home and Away shirt can actually purchase one, in the size they want, online or in person.

I personally think they can turn this around though.
Click to expand...
 
There's a number of factors involved.

The deal only being signed with Castore 3 months ago and not having proper preparations in place.
Having to workaround the covid situation.
Underestimating the demand from Rangers fans.

The quality of the products appears to be excellent. I think Castore will have learned a lot in the last few weeks about preparing correctly to deal with Rangers product launches in future.

Castore are a growing company and will add additional personnel to improve things like customer service. That doesn't help frustrated customers currently, but should benefit us in future kit launches.
 
My personal opinion is Castore under-estimated the demand, as proven by their struggle to maintain a good customer service for people with queries etc
Surely they done their homework and knew we were on a self imposed ban from the fat mans merchandise?
They had an open goal ffs
I've only been able to buy the wee man a home top so far.
Everything I like on their website is sold out in my size( if it even existed in the first place) , and I may not have the disposable income, nor the red hot desire to buy, in the future.
I love the mens travel media polo, apart from the awful advertising on the collar, the Junior version is perfect IMO. Would probably purchase the mens in the navy, but that is only available in the womens range.
I suppose I should be happy that we seem to have a decent manufacturer, just a bit frustrating with a few little bits.

Take My Money(for now) is very apt for not just me, but a lot of other Bears and Bearettes, so come on Castore, have a quick review of things.
 
Had my preorder cancelled this afternoon “as I requested” but got some training stuff through after 3-4 days of ordering. Materials are nice but I’ve got worries about longevity (1/4 zip is showing signs of wear after wearing a seatbelt for an hour).
I can sort of understand why Castore are trying to fill “their” store but I don’t think they realised how big Rangers are out with Glasgow/Scotland.
 
Too much too soon launching all 3 kits together along with training gear as it should have been staggered over a longer period. I prefer the pre internet times when you put down a deposit and you got your shirt on launch day from the shop as the club made sure that stocks were high
 
I think they were aware of the demand but with the quality of the gear and the fact that ashley is gone for good and the store is back has meant that demand has outstripped supply. I believe they will rectify this and these are teething problems that wont be repeated. I realise that isnt much compensation to folk waiting on orders or unable to buy stuff online but this is a very young and small company. Things will improve and i think we will have a great 5 years working with them
 
Both are poor imo. I've been to the store twice now and only one thing has been in xxl since I've been there. They need to realise they are dealing with the West of Scotland and the size of our support, literally.
 
Also, I ordered the grey training kit online last Wednesday only to receive an email this afternoon saying it had been cancelled due to lack of stock. A friend of mine ordered the exact same as me, same sizes etc about 10 minutes after I did and he got his through on Monday.
 
When was the deal done with Castore, Feb/Mar. Our biggest shift of items for over 10yrs.
Wide variety of kit/training.
That must go down as a positive.
Not fulfilled orders and poor customer service is very clearly a big negative, combined with the useless courier Hermes who cannot protect the goods they are supposed to deliver.

I fully expect a better operation next season when they have a season to prepare and expand to deal with the future sales.
 
I pre ordered the home top the day it was released

it was delivered on 3rd August

happy with my experience so far
 
Some of the stuff Castore has brought out has been nice and other stuff less so. Their main problem has been constant over promising. We were told the shop would compare to the best in Europe. Does it? We were told the orders would be able to be fulfilled. Have they? We were told the stuff would be affordable. The latest jacket is £95. If they would have been up front from the start about the potential difficulties then fans would cut them a bit more slack. They can hide behind being an up and coming brand if they like but that’s not good enough for a club and a fan base of our size.
 
Folk will talk about hermes let downs, lack of notice & the pandemic.
Bottom line is Castore chose their couriers & commited to the number of orders they took. They set that number without being forced & took hard earned money off fans who paid in good faith. Have saw how that’s worked out.
It was a disgrace new orders were took in store before pre-orders & an absolute p*ss take to fans who paid in advance.
Folk who have spent £300+, or any amount, going 2/3 weeks without a reply is also a shambles.
The launch of our third strip was as poorly promoted as could imagine. There was one post of a number of strips on a clothes rack. Kilwinning Rangers, a junior team, promoted their new home top better.
The amount of products on offer is impressive but they should have tried walking before running & kept the number of lines to a manageable number.
Folk have said the problems are just teething issues but the failings are huge & with the exception of the hermes damages all avoidable.
if anyone from our board is monitoring this they should be taking Castore to task immediately.
 
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