Will We Reach 1 Million?

[Rmpr 8,977]

To lighten up the mood after a painful equalizer by Suarez, lets talk about something positive! In late 2005, Chelsea signed a 5 year deal to change from Umbro to Adidas. The deal was worth 60 million pounds, making it a 12 million per season contract. The first kit introduced in 06/07, came to rap up the last of the big changes in our shirts. After the new Chelsea Centenary Crest and the Samsung partneship, the famous Adidas stripes came to Stamford Bridge.

Following the immense success of José Mourinho's team and the quality and originality of the marketing campaigns, the sales were better than expected. In 2007/08, only the second year of Adidas, Chelsea had already reached 750 thousand shirts sales worldwide during one season. The year after that, it reached the 800 thousand mark.

With the continue growth of Chelsea's popularity and after the club's very first Double under Carlo Ancelotti, both parties came up with a stunning multi million pound 8-year in Octoer 2010. The deal, currently in vigor, is rumored to be worth 20 million/season or 160 million in total. At the time, it was the second best kit deal in the country (losing to Nike's 300mi/13year deal with Manchester Utd).

The aggressiveness didn't stop, it actually got bigger. The marketing campaign was now reaching long forgotten economies such as South America and Africa. It is possible to see posters and even online commercials of Chelsea and Adidas in some countries of both continents. The club and its brand has truly achieved worldwide status.

Most recently, big time transfers such as Torres and the victory in the UCL Final 2012 helped Chelsea and Adidas reach another impressive mark. In 2011/12, they were the fifth club to sell over 900 thousand shirts in a season. More precisely 910 thousand, only behind Manchester Utd, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich (in that particular order).

Some kits better than others, but almost all of them were home runs and not one caused immense disappointment with the fans. These 7-8 years of partnership between Chelsea and Adidas can very well be called a success. Maybe to many traditional fans, the Umbro kits were more appealing, but no one can deny the quality of the current kits.

Enough with the past though, what about the future?

While numbers from the current season are still to be summed up, the question remains on how well we are actually doing and what numbers will be achieve. Can it really reach 1 million?

With the wild success in countries such as Belgium, Brazil, Japan and USA and with the transfers of charismatic figures such as Hazard, Oscar and Demba Ba; it is very much possible to beat the 1 million mark, but difficult. The fact this year's kit looks outstanding surely helps, but still. The increase must be of roughly 90 thousand shirts (or 10%), which makes things hard in today's global economy.

It won't be a surprise if Chelsea reports sales of over 1 million. However, it looks like next season will be more of a certainty... The new Adidas advertise campaign made quite an impact, both among the fans and the media. Papers around the world posted photos and articles about our players drowned and covered in blue paint. Because it is blue, what else matters? Despite the usual fan hype, how well can it really do? Well, it can only increase even more!

They were able to create a very interesting and simple message that fans will relate to and neutrals will enjoy. On top of that, the kit does look amazing. It is simple, yet elegant. They did not messed with the shade of blue and they came back with the white details. It seems to be already an success, even more when you look at leaks of possible other EPL teams.

The squad is full of young talented players who can grow to become future stars and the possibility of maybe the greatest manager of the modern era coming back will push thousands and thousands of sales. Add to that growing markets such as USA, Brazil and South Africa (where Chelsea has a great presence) and it all seems a no brainer.

CHELSEA WILL REACH 1 MILLION!

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In the end, what matters is that we are growing everyday into becoming the 4th or 5th biggest club in the world. Our place amongst the best is consolidated. We are no longer a small London club, we are the London club. We have grown into something incredibly big. We have revenues that rival with the biggest teams in German, Italy or England. The shirt sales are only one small symbolic figure to show how well we have been doing in the marketing department.

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[gary gordon 1,777]

I'd say the number in 08-09 would have been much higher had it not been for they massive amount of replica jerseys being sold on eBay out of Thailand. 09-10 was pretty bad too but since then it has improved.

[Strike 6,961]

Different markets to tap into now. A marquee signing this window can push it to the million mark