Last Spring many of you participated in the survey that I initiated which covered several aspects of the club including Club Clothing. As a result of that I set out to find a supplier who could meet our requirements from a quality perspective whilst priced more competitively than we have had for the last couple of years and allowing the members more flexibility when it comes to ordering clothing.
I am delighted to say that I have chosen Pactimo to supply KCC for the next 2 years (minimum) as they demonstrated the ability to meet all of our requirements better than any other supplier.
Pactimo have an online ordering system that will allow club members to place orders whenever the “store” is open for order. Payment is taken from each member (usually via Credit Card) and delivery is made between 4 and 6 weeks after the store is closed for that order cycle. There are a few rules that as a club we will need to observe and I’ve summarised the major ones here:
- In our initial order there is a minimum requirement for 5 of any item. In Pactimo’s case (unlike some other brands) similar Male and Female KCC Branded products are grouped together for ordering purposes. So, for example, if there is an order for 3 female winter tops and 2 male then the minimum quantity is reached.
- Once an item has achieved its minimum order quantity then it can be ordered in any number on any subsequent store openings provided that the total amount of the overall order is over £250. For the sake of clarity that £250 could be made up of one person ordering several items or several people ordering one item each. One point worth making here is that the £250 potentially includes non KCC branded items such as gloves or undergarments.
- Because Children’s clothes are not subject to VAT we will actually have 2 stores one of which will be specifically for The Cyclones. There we will have a range of clothing especially for them. If you need to access both stores then you will need separate logins for each as each login is linked to one of the 2 stores and subsequently you’ll be taken there directly from your login.
I have identified a number of core items that will be a part of our initial store opening. You will be able to access these by following the links and login instructions below. Once we have got these basic items sorted we are more than happy to discuss adding other items if the membership wants them.
The design of the clothes is an evolution of what we have had for the last couple of years so anybody who invested in the previous iteration will be able to continue to use it. There has been a return to a fully black short (except for the KCC and Pactimo branding) and panelling on the tops is now in black as opposed to the gunmetal grey on the previous design. You can see examples of the clothing in the store when you log in. I hope that you’re all as pleased with it as I am.
The sizing of the clothes is very much in line with other manufacturers. For example I am a medium with all of our previous suppliers (and others) and I am a medium with Pactimo. That said I intend to arrange for some sizing samples to be sent to me so that people can be sure of their Pactimo size before any order goes to production. It’s worth pointing out that if you make a mistake during the ordering process and order an incorrect size there is a process whereby it can be changed at any time up until the order goes into production. Once it’s in production then I’m afraid that it can’t be changed.
I do have some samples of most of the items in the store so you can see their quality if you’d like to before buying. I’ll be home from Tuesday 17th and will be happy for you to arrange come round to see them if you haven’t already done so.
For logistical reasons I intend to open the first store for orders from the 20th January to the 30th January. This means that we would expect to receive anything on that order by the middle of March in time for the new season.
You will be able to go to the site before the store opens to see the clothing, its design and the other information about each different item. To do that follow these instructions:
Enter https://teamstore.pactimo.com/stores/select , click my team store, select the store that you want then input Kettering into the password in the below window.
The system will ask you to register on-line and then your items will appear.
The final thing to highlight is that whilst all of my dealings have been with the UK arm of Pactimo the store is hosted in the U.S. so when you are placing orders you are placing them on a U.S. system which some credit card companies are understandably cautious about. If you’re going to use a credit card (Mastercard or Visa) then it may be worthwhile advising them that you will be placing an order on Pactimo’s system.