Fans focus group with Castore

MCKAY72 said:
While they predicted there would be a significant response from the supporters, they didnt estimate quite how much it would explode and they admit that they were caught out by it on occasion. They have recruited a 400% increase in customer service staff to respond to fans and as of tonight they are now responding to emails sent yesterday so have caught up on the backlog.

This simply isnt true. I am still waiting on a reply to my emails two weeks ago as well as a another from Monday.
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forward that on to me slo@rangers.co.uk and I’ll flag up for response.
 
Jed jed1 said:
Thanks for the summary, was there anything said about their claim that the pro kit was going to be made in their Portuguese factory but then they changed it to China after they were caught lying.
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I'm just catching up with the thread (and I've seen the replies to this having read it backwards to try and get to Budd's initial post) and I cannot believe that this wasn't brought up.

Along with the fact that every single parent of a child aged 5-7 cannot get their child a strip, that is the biggest question that had to be addressed for me as it seems they've been caught out in a massive lie.

I can take Hermes being at fault and I can even see why, in such a rush at such huge volumes there would be quality control issues. What I cannot accept is being taken for a mug as the response to the Turkey / China strips looks like we have been.
 
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MCKAY72 said:
While they predicted there would be a significant response from the supporters, they didnt estimate quite how much it would explode and they admit that they were caught out by it on occasion. They have recruited a 400% increase in customer service staff to respond to fans and as of tonight they are now responding to emails sent yesterday so have caught up on the backlog.

This simply isnt true. I am still waiting on a reply to my emails two weeks ago as well as a another from Monday.
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Have they gone from 1 to 4 or 2 to 8?

Edit, just seen the reply that it was 3 to 12. I wasn't far away. :oops:
 
Budd Sidewinder said:
Stock levels are back up again in both the store and online and they continue to work hard to backfill these.
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Appreciated your update mate (no point in quoting it all) and taking the time to let us know.

I'd argue with them on that point though. It was only yesterday that Earl of Leven from on here was at the shop and there were very limited numbers of pretty much all lines and even what was there was XXL and above / no regular sizes.
 
Coops2016 said:
Greg . Can you confirm that if you have a Turkey home top it can be returned for a replacement or full refund ?
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I'd like to know the answer to this too. I'm not going to suggest that I'd really have noticed (it's basically a carbon copy of the Hummel strip from last year) until it was pointed out but the red stripe on the back of my strip isn't stiched syemtrically.

I'm more miffed at the fact I have a strip which is of a poorer quality to the Chinese version simply because I pre-ordered mine.

Given the concerns about various bits of the lettering peeling off their garments (and I don't wear my strip regularly so it's not washed in huge numers) I don't want to find this happens six months down the line.

If a change is available, I'd like to do the same as Coops.
 
Empire said:
Not sure why this is still being asked. If you want to return it for a replacement, you’ll get the exact same one.
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I'll be issued with a Turkey made strip if I take mine back? So it'll be the same material rather than the Chinese ones (made from the material the 3rd in the store is) and will have the same issues with the red stripe on the back?
 
Laudrup1 said:
I'm just catching up with the thread (and I've seen the replies to this having read it backwards to try and get to Budd's initial post) and I cannot believe that this wasn't brought up.

Along with the fact that every single parent of a child aged 5-7 cannot get their child a strip, that is the biggest question that had to be addressed for me as it seems they've been caught out in a massive lie.

I can take Hermes being at fault and I can even see why, in such a rush at such huge volumes there would be quality control issues. What I cannot accept is being taken for a mug as the response to the Turkey / China strips looks like we have been
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Does anybody really care where the Pro kit is made? The issue here is that there is a discrepancy in quality between the Adult Home Men’s shirts (make in Turkey) and the Adult Away/Third tops (made in China). As the SLO has posted earlier the Women’s Home tops are made in China anyway and it appears that up to a certain age some of the Junior Home tops are as well. So the primary issue seems to be Adult, and some kids, Home tops. The Chinese tops appear to be receiving excellent reports of their quality.

To be clear, there appears no evidence of an Adult Home top made in China (unless the Pro version, which is a different material to any of the replica kits) and the SLO has repeatedly asked for anyone who has evidence of such to send it to him. With no response.
 
Budd Sidewinder said:
Stock levels are back up again in both the store and online and they continue to work hard to backfill these.
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Appreciated your update mate (no point in quoting it all) and taking the time to let us know.

I'd argue with them on that point though. It was only yesterday that Earl of Leven from on here was at the shop and there were very limited numbers of pretty much all lines and even what was there was XXL and above / no regular sizes.
 
Laudrup1 said:
Appreciated your update mate (no point in quoting it all) and taking the time to let us know.

I'd argue with them on that point though. It was only yesterday that Earl of Leven from on here was at the shop and there were very limited numbers of pretty much all lines and even what was there was XXL and above / no regular sizes.
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I went in to the store before the meeting to check and there were all sizes in every shirt in stock on the shelves
 
Laudrup1 said:
I'll be issued with a Turkey made strip if I take mine back? So it'll be the same material rather than the Chinese ones (made from the material the 3rd in the store is) and will have the same issues with the red stripe on the back?
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The Turkey home shirts are what the home shirt is meant to be. The Chinese home shirts that turned up (Mainly in kids and women sizes) had the wrong material used on them which is meant to be for the pro version. That’s my understanding of it anyway.

I’m not sure why the away and 3rd kits have different material (the stripe panel on back of the neck) but the Turkey version of the home kit is what it’s meant to be. You can see it here also....

shop.rangers.co.uk

Adult Home Short Sleeved Shirt

The 20-21 Rangers Home Jersey is a modern classic. Combining the world famous royal blue colourway with a new wave pattern symbolising the Blue Sea of Ibrox and representing a new era for the club. The constructed collar design is a contemporary take on a traditional silhouette and fuses with...
shop.rangers.co.uk shop.rangers.co.uk
 
MCKAY72 said:
While they predicted there would be a significant response from the supporters, they didnt estimate quite how much it would explode and they admit that they were caught out by it on occasion. They have recruited a 400% increase in customer service staff to respond to fans and as of tonight they are now responding to emails sent yesterday so have caught up on the backlog.

This simply isnt true. I am still waiting on a reply to my emails two weeks ago as well as a another from Monday.
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Another lie from Castore I’m afraid. Plenty of bears waiting for a response including my partner.

I don’t know why they keep making these claims.
 
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Seems that the message has got through to Castore - they now have to act not just words.

I'd expect a mea culpa from them and or the club shortly - naturally there will never be enough contrition for some.
 
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cambridgeblue said:
Seems that the message has got through to Castore - they now have to act not just words.

I'd expect a mea culpa from them and or the club shortly - naturally there will never be enough contrition for some.
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Thanks to the social media frenzy we have folks - and you can see it on this thread - thinking they can take their Adult Home Men’s top from Turkey into store and change it for one made in China. That isn’t the case. It was never the case. It was a misleading and incorrect post on social media that started this off.

None of that explains the difference in quality between the Adult Home Men’s kit made in Turkey and the Adult Away/Third Men’s kit made in China. Nor does it excuse it.
 
Laudrup1 said:
I'll be issued with a Turkey made strip if I take mine back? So it'll be the same material rather than the Chinese ones (made from the material the 3rd in the store is) and will have the same issues with the red stripe on the back?
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Yes, because the home shirt is only made in Turkey for men. Poorer quality than away and third IMO.
 
prenzlauerbear said:
Not read the full thread, but did anyone ask how they plan on saving their brand from being seen as the ultimate riddy in the West of Scotland? How they plan on making "yer da wears Castore" not a thing?
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The best way to deal with that is ignorance I suppose. The folk who will be throwing that type of “insult”, if you could call it that, are the mentally challengeds who, lets face it, in the main would struggle to purchase anything from their site normally, as their giro wouldn’t stretch that far.

or fight insult with insult like “here’s a bar of soap” or something a bit stronger than that of course.
:)) :)) :))
 
JW1988 said:
Yes, because the home shirt is only made in Turkey for men. Poorer quality than away and third IMO.
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The home top isn’t poor quality - I get that a very small amount may have defects but the narritive that it’s any less quality than a normal retail kit I don’t agree with. People can prefer different cuts/styles but the narritive around this doesn’t reflect the vast majority who are more than satisfied with their kit. Obviously any faults are not acceptable and should be changed.
 
Empire said:
The Turkey home shirts are what the home shirt is meant to be. The Chinese home shirts that turned up (Mainly in kids and women sizes) had the wrong material used on them which is meant to be for the pro version. That’s my understanding of it anyway.

I’m not sure why the away and 3rd kits have different material (the stripe panel on back of the neck) but the Turkey version of the home kit is what it’s meant to be. You can see it here also....

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Gotcha, Cheers.

Right, that takes me back to the question as to why they told us the Pro kits were to be made at their Portuguese factory at their flag ship store on their elite equipment?

That's a lie I can't get over just now until they answer it more than "we accidentally had released some of them in China" which doesn't pass decent levels of reasoning.
 
Empire said:
The Turkey home shirts are what the home shirt is meant to be. The Chinese home shirts that turned up (Mainly in kids and women sizes) had the wrong material used on them which is meant to be for the pro version. That’s my understanding of it anyway.

I’m not sure why the away and 3rd kits have different material (the stripe panel on back of the neck) but the Turkey version of the home kit is what it’s meant to be. You can see it here also....

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Materials in any of the replica kits aren’t the same as the pro kits - replicas are 100% polyester and pro kits have a polyester/spandex blend. The style in the China replica is closer to the pro kit though which is where some of the confusion is imo.
 
Greg Marshall said:
The home top isn’t poor quality - I get that a very small amount may have defects but the narritive that it’s any less quality than a normal retail kit I don’t agree with. People can prefer different cuts/styles but the narritive around this doesn’t reflect the vast majority who are more than satisfied with their kit. Obviously any faults are not acceptable and should be changed.
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I didn't say "poor" I said "Poorer than the away and third in my opinion" (which incidentally isn't only my opinion but seems to be a popular opinion amongst many)

For the avoidance of doubt. I did say above that I had the home shirt and was only returning it due to the "Follow Follow" on the inside collar being smudged during printing, then I compared it with the away and third in store. I feel they are both superior shirts so returned the home shirt with no hassle, then ordered the third online as m,y size wasn't available in store. I'm perfectly happy with the third kit, but wouldn't be happy paying the same for the home shirt. Each to their own on that one.
 
Greg Marshall said:
Materials in any of the replica kits aren’t the same as the pro kits - replicas are 100% polyester and pro kits have a polyester/spandex blend. The style in the China replica is closer to the pro kit though which is where some of the confusion is imo.
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Where is the pro kit?
 
JW1988 said:
I didn't say "poor" I said "Poorer than the away and third in my opinion" (which incidentally isn't only my opinion but seems to be a popular opinion amongst many)
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its definitely a narrative but I don’t agree with it - had lots of messages from fans at launch about how good the design of style of the kit.

admittedly these things are subjective so people are entitled to their opinions but I for one have the home, away and third shirts and like the cut of the home shirt the best.
 
Greg Marshall said:
The home top isn’t poor quality - I get that a very small amount may have defects but the narritive that it’s any less quality than a normal retail kit I don’t agree with. People can prefer different cuts/styles but the narritive around this doesn’t reflect the vast majority who are more than satisfied with their kit. Obviously any faults are not acceptable and should be changed.
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So you're saying the weird, bulky fit at the shoulders was an intentional design decision by Castore?

As an aside, did anyone ask them how their plan to sponsor La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga teams for next season is coming along? Also, did we find out which shops in particular (remember, they went around Europe scouting the best club stores in Europe) inspired the architectural marvel that is the new Rangers Store?
 
Greg Marshall said:
there are only Turkey adult male home tops - if it’s faulty then of course get it replaced but you can’t exchange it for a top that doesn’t exist.
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So what are they going to do about the clear quality issue for tops we have all purchased. My kids away and 3rd are great and the home is poor . I get the whole we have an issue and we will sort it for next time but it doesn’t wash . This is not addressing how they will rectify the current issues .
Regardless of how much it costs they should be making all replica tops to the same quality.
I get the impression the club are happy for the status quo of the tops are inferior quality and tough we will not force Castore to put it right
 
prenzlauerbear said:
So you're saying the weird, bulky fit at the shoulders was an intentional design decision by Castore?

As an aside, did anyone ask them how their plan to sponsor La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga teams for next season is coming along? Also, did we find out which shops in particular (remember, they went around Europe scouting the best club stores in Europe) inspired the architectural marvel that is the new Rangers Store?
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mines isn’t fitted with a weird and bulky fit at the shoulders. fans I see wearing it in the street and my family members I wouldn’t describe it in that way either.
 
Greg Marshall said:
Materials in any of the replica kits aren’t the same as the pro kits - replicas are 100% polyester and pro kits have a polyester/spandex blend. The style in the China replica is closer to the pro kit though which is where some of the confusion is imo.
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Greg there was definitely home kits in kids sizes that had the pro kit material on sale in error in the stadium Store. In fact a few pro kits were actually sold in error also. I’ve seen the away pro kit and was able to compare the material on them.
 
Coops2016 said:
So what are they going to do about the clear quality issue for tops we have all purchased. My kids away and 3rd are great and the home is poor . I get the whole we have an issue and we will sort it for next time but it doesn’t wash . This is not addressing how they will rectify the current issues .
Regardless of how much it costs they should be making all replica tops to the same quality.
I get the impression the club are happy for the status quo of the tops are inferior quality and tough we will not force Castore to put it right
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“The clear quality issue” I think that’s the narrative I was referring to. I disagree one is poor and the other two are good. All three of them are good.
If there are faulty strips they will of course be replaced.
 
Coops2016 said:
You are not serious ??
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I am. I know it’s not going to be popular as people have their minds made up but I’m not going to sit and nod along to something I disagree with.

mistakes have been made but for me they are around customer service (which seems to be vastly improved in my interactions between fans and Castore) and quality assurance which I believe should see a significant improvement.
 
Greg Marshall said:
“The clear quality issue” I think that’s the narrative I was referring to. I disagree one is poor and the other two are good. All three of them are good.
If there are faulty strips they will of course be replaced.
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Greg . I appreciate your difficult position on this but let’s not lose credibility with trying to flog this off as anything other than Castore and the club trying to cover for a very expensive mistake . They should all be the same
 
Empire said:
Greg there was definitely home kits in kids sizes that had the pro kit material on sale in error in the stadium Store. In fact a few pro kits were actually sold in error also. I’ve seen the away pro kit and was able to compare the material on them.
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I’m not disputing that. I’m saying that pro kit and replica have different materials.
 
Must think we’re buttoned up the back. No excuse for not owning this from a communication or customer service point of view.

Just because the tops have a Rangers badge doesn’t mean we should show blind loyalty to a company no one had heard 4 months ago.

For me, I’ll give my money some other way.
 
Haven't read the whole thread but was anyone invited from Club 1872?I know there was talk from beforehand that there wouldn't be any one.I find that strange considering they represent a large part of the fan base and are supposed to be a conduit between the fans and the Club.
 
It’s not popular because it isn’t true. The excuse given for the clear difference between the third and away replica kits and some versions of the home kit (ladies and some kids), when compared to the adult male home tops was that pro tops were sent out by mistake. That was in the statement you helped circulated on behalf of Castore and it wasn’t true.

The adult male home top from Turkey is still 100% polyester but is different to the 100% polyester third and away strips. It is also different to the 100% polyester female and kids home tops which happened to be manufactured in China. There is no reasonable excuse for that so someone cane up with the lie that pro tops, which are a different material, were sent out by mistake.

There is no point complaining about a “narrative” when it was a lie about pro tops which caused the confusion in the first place.

Greg Marshall said:
I am. I know it’s not going to be popular as people have their minds made up but I’m not going to sit and nod along to something I disagree with.

mistakes have been made but for me they are around customer service (which seems to be vastly improved in my interactions between fans and Castore) and quality assurance which I believe should see a significant improvement.
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Greg Marshall said:
I’m not disputing that. I’m saying that pro kit and replica have different materials.
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So can you say for sure that the material for the home top made in Turkey is much higher quality than the fake home shirts the Turkish are selling for about £40 cheaper than what we have paid?
Because this seems to be the problem that the fans feel they are being ripped off with an inferior material.
 
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