Ipswich Town have sold close to 35,000 replica shirts as a record-breaking retail season continues to gather pace for the Blues.
The club’s switch from adidas to Umbro in the summer saw the Blues launch two hugely popular kits ahead of the season, made up of bespoke home and away shirts, before things moved up a gear when the Ed-Sheeran-designed black third kit was revealed at the end of August.
The third shirt has become the biggest-selling in the club’s history, with more than 11,000 supporters buying prior to a second pre-order period, which closed earlier this month.
The three shirts have now combined to sell nearly 35,000 before Christmas, with the expectation of potentially reaching 40,000 by the time the campaign comes to an end.
“We have sold almost 35,000 shirts this season across the home, away and black kits,” CEO Mark Ashton revealed, speaking to our Kings of Anglia podcast.
“And I can only say thank you to supporters for that because it’s just incredible. It’s an unbelievably big number and there really is no comparison.
“In our first season after taking over we broke records with shirts, selling around 22,000 by the end of the season. That’s including the Christmas run and the discounted stock at the end of the season, which is a huge improvement on anything the club has ever done.
“We’ve not even reached the Christmas sales period yet this season and we’ve reached 35,000. It could end up as 40,000-plus by the end of the season.
“If you put that into comparison with a club, say, like Leeds United, their reach and what they can do in retail around the world is incredible. Our trajectory is onto that kind of plan and we’re much bigger in that sense than clubs I’ve worked at before.
“And we haven’t won anything yet. Wait until this club actually does something.”
Superstar Sheeran has extended his shirt sponsorship for a third season, heading into the 2023/24 campaign. But, while the musician’s influence has certainly helped boost sales, the vast majority have been sold to true Ipswich Town supporters, rather than international concert-goers.
“We track all of the sales and where there go – and yes, there are some international sales,” Ashton said.
“The spike in international sales around Ed’s concerts are minimal, really minimal. We thought there might be more of a spike.
“Let’s say he’s touring in Scotland. You wouldn’t think Rangers, Celtic or Hibs fans would buy an Ipswich shirt, even if they are Ed Sheeran fans. But it will be interesting to see what happens now he moves onto the US leg of his tour.
“But if you track these sales, they are core Ipswich fans, either here or internationally. We have brilliant pockets of supporters around the world.”
Ashton was speaking during an interview with our Kings of Anglia podcast, in which the Town CEO discussed a wide-range of topics including the January window, a Portman Road masterplan, Ed Sheeran, a year of Kieran McKenna and the importance of promotion this season.
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