You might be wondering how Charlton's prices fare when held up against other English teams. I've done a little bit of research into the prices that other clubs charge, in the Prem and at our level, the championship.
The Premier League
So, we will start off with the big guns of the EPL (as our American friends like to call it). Charltons very own Nike, also produce Man Utds kit, and as mentioned earlier, their stature at the top the pyramid means they get a bespoke design exclusive to them. They also deal with Nike directly, unlike Charlton who do via Just-Sport. Man Utd are (arguably) the biggest club in the country so you might think that they can charge less for a kit, with sales guaranteed to be in the millions. Well this doesn't seem to be the case. A “basic” Manu adult shirt (ie with no player printing, league badges etc) runs at £49.99, so £4 more expensive than a CAFC shirt.
Their London rivals Chelsea have their kit manufactured by Adidas. A basic CFC home shirt is £49 as well. No variation in price, despite a different kit maker. As there is no real competition between clubs in terms of persuading people to buy the kit they like best regardless of the team, there isn't any price wars like there is with other consumer products. Obviously Chelsea fans will only buy a Chelsea shirt of course, a Man U fan will only buy a Man U kit. Brand loyalty does exist in other products, but I'm far inclined to buy a TV based on the quality, and not because I'm a die-hard Samsung fan. Finally Liverpool are unique in the choice of kit supplier. Warrior are a new brand, founded in 1992 by former Lacrosse player David Morrow. They have recently branched out into football and the Scouse club is their biggest contract. No change in price again though, as the Liverpool home shirt is again £49.99.
The Championship
So CAFC seem to come off pretty well in terms of price against the prem teams, but what about teams at the same level? Championship new boys Brentford were Charltons first opponents of the 14-15 season, and they are currently in the second year with Adidas as a kit partner. Their new league status means the Bees can probably be assured of shirt sales being at their highest for many a year, so does that means prices could be higher? Nope, Brentford charge £41.99 for their 14-15 home shirt, a few quid cheaper than Charlton (at £44).
Notts Forest are club with a successful past and 5th highest average home attendance in the 2 tier, so does this mean a shirt price to match? £45 gets you a Notts Forest shirt, also made by Adidas. What about other teams that use Nike, like CAFC? Blackburn also have Nike as a supplier, so presumably they would charge an identical amount for a replica shirt. Interestingly Blackburn charge more, £49.99 in fact.
One would assume any sub-premier league Nike partnered club would have the same Just-Sport/Nike arrangement that we do, but I can't confirm this. The online store is normally a tell tale sign, as Just-Sport use a uniform design for all the clubs in their portfolio but Blackburns is unique. My familys Essex connections mean I occasionally see a Southend United game and their kit happens to be produced by Nike/Just-Sport. Addicks fans will be aware that Southend is where our very own Chris Powell made a name for himself and they are currently plying their trade in League 2. Lower status must mean lower prices right? Well, not really. Their recently revealed away kit costs a princely £44 (Southend).
Kids kits
We thought we'd focus on this with Christmas coming up
Not a cheap prospect and Charlton currently offer a “Junior” shirt starting at £36. Factor in multiple purchases to cover any brothers and sisters and kitting out your offspring in CAFC replicas is gonna be expensive. So how do we compare to the clubs mentioned above in the childrens categories, we don't expect fans to switch clubs but its nice to know. This is what Ive found, Charlton included again for comparison:
Charlton Athletic (Nike):
Kids Home: £36.00
Man Utd (Nike)
Kids Home: £36.99
Infants (includes shorts & socks): £29.99
Little Boys (includes shorts & socks): £34.99
Chelsea (Adidas)
Kids Home: £39.99
Infants (includes shorts & socks): £29.99
Little Boys (includes shorts & socks): £34.99
Liverpool (Warrior):
Kids Home: £39.99
Infants (includes shorts & socks): £31.99
Brentford (Adidas):
Kids Home: £32.99
Infants (includes shorts & socks): £36.99
Notts Forest (Adidas):
Junior Home: £35.00
Infants (includes shorts & socks): £40.00
Blackburn (Nike) :
Kids Home: £34.99
Little Boys (includes shorts & socks): £34.99
Southend United (Nike):
Kids Away: £36.00
So overall its seems not all kits are created equal. Even kits from the same manufacturer can vary in pricing, and League stature doesn't necessarily translate into cheaper prices either. Some clubs offer more options when it comes to childrens kits. In my opinion Charlton are neither cheap nor overly expensive, but feel free to sound off your thoughts on kit pricing below in the comments. Up the Addicks!
Trevor Wale