From two highly reliable sources, I'm told that Umbro has been shut down today, and, as a result has sent their employees home. What effect this will have on their North American presence is debatable, but in any case this is a sad day for local soccer in general (considering Umbro's visable presence in Canadian soccer) and of course for those individuals we know who have worked for Umbro to this point.
I'd like to extend my best wishes to those individuals (employees) who have been so drastically impacted by this unfortunate event.
The rumors are nothing but true...effective 10am this morning, UMBRO North America is closed for business. The staff was informed shortly after this announcement that our employment would be terminated effective immediately. From a business perspective, the expansion to the US market was too much to handle...the Canadian side still remained strong but was unable to keep the ship afloat.
A US sinking ship with the anchor wrapped around our ankles as it were!
It was a difficult day for the staff as UMBRO’s presents in the local and national communities was strong solely due to their hard work and dedication. All will be missed!
That's, in a nutshell, what transpired today! Much more to the story will unfold in the next few days...but in the meantime...ANYONE HIRING???
Galaxy Sports stock was frozen a week ago Tuesday...as for the existing inventory, the bank owns it, so I would imagine they would fill all excising orders then auction the remaining to the highest bidder. But that's all my take...what will actually happen is unknown!
What kind of company pulls the plug and doesn't give their employees any idea of what's to come? Lot's I suppose, but how many times does it affect people we all know? I suppose it does sometimes as well, but when are we in a position to do something about it? We are now.
We all, or the majority of us play soccer. TheRob proposes(sp?)a TTP boycott of Umbro. That's around 700 people not buying Umbro gear. They'd feel that in the old pocket book for sure. Stick it to the corporate big whigs so to speak.
Rob...they just went tits up. The bank now own all the inventry. How does a boycott hurt them now? I applaud the sentiment though.
What will the ramifications for local soccer be? Adidas are based out east. Nike don't know were Canada is, and who wants to wear Diadora stuff made in Langley!
The Humphry Brothers will be turning in their graves.
Actually, a boycott of Umbro may not be outta of order...
I was just talking to the person who did ALL of Umbro's North American IT work and he explained that the whole reason this came about is because of the parent Umbro UK company...
Apparently they agreed to finance a bunch of new initiatives over here [North America], but were always humming and hawing and making the higher-ups here jump through different hoops. In the end, they backed out of the financing they agreed to and the rest is history.
The US division was not to blame as I understand it... they had just signed a deal with Champs in the states [380 stores] as well as Target...
It's really fcuked when you think of all the other people affected by this fiasco [other than direct employees]... my contact is now out a couple grand a month... needless to say, a significant portion of his business
This is really a shame for the local soccer community. I feel for everyone that has lost their jobs. That said, I’m sure everyone will pick themselves up after a few pints, and move on. You ask how often this happens? Often enough- especially when the home office is based in Toronto, or somewhere else remote.
That brings us to the problem of the boycott: how effective would it be, and would it change anything? No. You assume that those 700 people all buy Umbro. I personally haven’t bought Umbro in years (no offense, Notty). Also, what about local shops (i.e.: Saveco) who may have relied heavily on Umbro in the past, and may have outstanding orders w/ Umbro? What about the teams that rely on Saveco (and others) to get their kits in on time? I’m sure Vince is now scrambling like hell to somehow fill his shelves and special orders with another product where Umbro would have normally been placed. Not the best time of the year to try and do this…
Best solution? Continue to support your local shop, instead of buckling and buying goods from a big chain store. The chain stores may not feel the pinch as much, but the local stores will.