Hibs have announced a new three year retail and kit supply agreement with sports retailer, PSL and Italian kit manufacturer, Macron.
The deal will begin in June 2017 and fans will be able to look forward to a home and away kit launch, a new retail website and a refurbished club store in the summer.
Hibernian will join Macron’s portfolio of sports clubs and associations which include Sporting Lisbon, Crystal Palace, Scottish Rugby and, in Scottish football, Motherwell and Ross County.
Andrea Palilla, UK Country Manager: “Hibernian Football Club is an incredibly exciting and major signing for Macron. We are proud to associate our name to one of the most prestigious clubs in British football and confirm Macron role as major player in the European market for sport products.
“We’ve worked closely with the club to design a set of unique kits which combine the performance elements required by modern day players along with the typical Italian stylish designs which we are sure the fans will appreciate.”
Alan Provan, Managing Director of PSL said: “PSL are delighted to be announced as Retail Partner for Hibernian Football Club. We are very much looking forward to working with the Management team at the Club.
“We are also very excited about engaging with the fans as they are at the core of our thinking as a business and Hibernian fans have proved themselves to be extremely loyal and fiercely proud.
“We aim to deliver the very best in retail product and service and this partnership with Macron and Hibernian F.C. allows the perfect platform to achieve this.”
Leeann Dempster, Hibernian Chief Executive, said: “Last year we ran an extensive tender process looking at a range of retail and kit manufacturers. We also considered bringing our retail operation in-house. We concluded that the best option would be to partner with organisations who could provide the expertise and financial investment we needed to revamp the products and retail service to our fans.
“PSL are a Scottish-based retailer who, from the start, impressed us with their hunger and entrepreneurial approach. They, like us, are keen to extend the range of products we have in the club store and will be able to offer flexibility to react and cater for our fans.
“Likewise, Macron are keen to put Hibernian at the centre of their drive to build their business in the UK. Their business model allows us to create unique, high quality home and away kits and we are excited to share the new kit designs with the fans in In the close season.
“We are also pleased that the existing club store staff will transfer over to PSL, ensuring continuity and that we retain some friendly faces for our fans.
“With this announcement we can now step up our efforts via the Working Together fans forum to develop the product range for 2017/18 and beyond.
“I would also like to thank Just Sport and Nike for their efforts and support over the past four seasons. In particular, the kits of 2015/16 will live long in the memory having been worn in our historic Scottish Cup winning run.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
