Kit Tender Update

As you may have heard, the current deal with our kit supplier, Samurai, has come to the end of its course.

This means that we have the exciting opportunity to go out to procurement and let other companies bid for the chance to take over supplying our leisure, training and playing kit. This process is fully underway at the moment.

What's happened so far?

A document was sent around to companies with a set list of criteria and red lines that must be met in order for their offer to be considered. This extensive document, put together by the College, outlines important requirements such as price, shipping, quality, range, colours and branding. These were put together through both student consultation and College requirements. We want to ensure students are at the heart of every decision we make, giving important input into decisions which will directly affect them.  At the end of the day, students are the ones who will be buying and wearing the sportswear most often.

In terms of timeline, we started talking about the process just before the Christmas break, consulted students during the first Student Opportunities Council and held an interactive feedback desk at Big Bears Wednesday in term one where students could write down what they liked and disliked about the current kit. From this, the College put together a procurement pack which was then sent out for companies to view and apply for. This period has now closed and we are moving onto the next steps.

The next steps

We now move forward in the process to the decision phase. Of course, as always, we have student engagement and feedback which will be vital. Sports club members have signed up to take part in one of three open sessions where they will be able to come down and try on clothes sent by suppliers which are anonymously branded. Members will be able to test the quality, fit and feel of the sportswear without having any bias. Their feedback will then be recorded and used as parting of the marking phase. Marking the proposals from companies will be a panel comprised of staff members from the College, Active Lifestyle & Sport and the Students’ Union, including myself. We will individually mark the proposals out of five in different areas such as price, range, quality, delivery time etc. From this we can come together and create a joint score.

This is an extremely exciting process which will be implemented soon so that come June, groups will be able to order new kit in time for the upcoming season. For third years especially this would be a refreshing change from kit used in previous years. However, keep in mind that the current Samurai brand may still be up for consideration to extend the contract.

Many thanks to those who have helped so far and will be attending these sessions. It is great to have student feedback and insight when making big decisions like this. If you have any questions about the process then don’t be afraid to email me at vpsports@su.rhul.ac.uk

Dom Brown // Vice President Sport