With a club network of over twenty teams including a first team Men’s XV competing in the fifth tier of the national rugby pyramid, North Walsham Vikings Rugby club prides itself as being Norfolk’s premier rugby club and one of the leading sides in East Anglia.
With a strong sense of community, the club is proud to be able to facilitate rugby for all ages and ability from an under six team right through to senior men’s and women’s teams – and all operating from their impressive six pitch site in Norfolk.
The 2024/25 season saw North Walsham change its playing kit and teamwear partner to STC having been with their previous supplier for a number of seasons. The club wanted to work directly with a manufacturer rather than through a third party which would help improve lead times – a vital requirement for a club of their scale. What they were not aware of at the time was the high level of input they would be able to have in the design of the kit.
Niall Lear, Director of Rugby said, “Whilst there were no major issues with our previous supplier, it was clear that STC would do things differently for us and being able to input into the design of the kit was just one of those points of difference.”
Whilst the partnership only commenced at the start of the season, Niall has been hugely impressed with the level of support and overall quality of the service the club receives from STC. He works closely with the team at STC and says that “nothing is ever too much” for them.
Another challenge that STC was able to overcome was the team’s club shop. As is the case with clubs of their size, when kit is needed, time is absolutely critical. “A player for any of our teams may sign on a Monday and want the kit in time for the match the next weekend. So, it is important to the club and player that they are able to wear our kit quickly. We previously had a traditional approach with the club shop but that could mean carrying stock, which is nice in theory but in reality, can cause us problems especially during the close season when it would just sit redundant.”
STC was able to offer an alternative approach through its online club store facility. With all the playing kit and teamwear available online, any new purchases are fulfilled within 48-72 hours which just makes life easier for everyone from parents to players and the club’s coaches and volunteers.
Another major factor for the switch to STC was location. With STC’s head office less than one hour from North Walsham, Niall saw this as an obvious choice of local supply with local clubs and businesses working together.
“I would 100% recommend STC. Since making the switch, we have had nothing other than positive feedback from both players and parents. As a business they have the ability to supply clubs of our size and scale but what makes them stand out is that we see how much they care and making sure the partnership runs as smoothly as it can”
You can read more about North Walsham Vikings RFC by visiting their website here.
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