Rangers could do with recruiting the help of several of the club’s most legendary stars on the park at the minute.
But the Gers faithful will just have to make do with the club utilising a trio of bonafide Rangers legends off it with the launch of a stunning new 125th Ibrox anniversary kit.
Rangers are celebrating the launch of a stunning new kit as part of the club’s celebrations for passing a century and a quarter at the spiritual home of all things Rangers.
With the kit a roaring success amongst supporters, the move also probably couldn’t have come at a better time for controversial partner Castore.
Rangers launch Ibrox heritage kit
Rangers recouped the help of former captains Barry Ferguson and Lee McCulloch as well as legendary former striker Mark Hateley to launch the club’s new 125th Ibrox anniversary jersey.
Leaks of the new Rangers kit appeared online earlier in the week and the club has now officially launched the jersey as part of those Ibrox commemorations.
‘The Ibrox 125 Heritage Kit’ is a bold Rangers blue with all white collars, cuffs and inlays, with the showstopping inclusion of a the club’s historic badge a genuine head-turner.
The socks also include a criss-cross balustrade, a tribute to the famous Ibrox main stand’s designer Archibald Leitch.
Whilst the club has been tight-lipped on when the jersey will be worn, Rangers have confirmed the ‘limited-edition’ kit will be used at some point in December.
Find out everything you need to know about the kit on the official Rangers website.
The short-sleeved jersey is priced at £75 for adults and £55 for kids, with the long-sleeved jersey priced at £80.
With shorts priced at £38, Rangers fans can complete the kit by paying £17 for socks, meaning the full adult kit will set you back £130.
Rangers have also launched a range of ‘Ibrox heritage’ products including bunnets, scarves, jumpers and polo shirts as part of the campaign.
Win for Castore with Rangers future up in the air
The release of the new Rangers kit comes at a crucial juncture in the club’s retail journey.
Rangers are now officially free of retail-based litigation, settling close to a decade of retail warfare in the club’s boardroom.
With the shackles of Sports Direct and Elite/Hummel now gone from Ibrox, Rangers’ benchmark deal with emerging producer Castore is also set to roll to a close at the end of the season.
Rangers were Castore’s first foray into football and whilst the retailer has endured a rocky few years elsewhere, the partnership at Ibrox has always proven consistent.
There have been quality and customer service issues, but Castore have delivered a number of memorable kits for Rangers and helped the club post record retail profits.
But that hasn’t stopped Castore posting a £29m loss for the last financial year, with the retailer blaming increased costs for the staggering figures.
The Manchester-based company is also assured that ‘all short term issues are now resolved’.
“The company implemented a strategy to improve the efficiency of its supply chain during the period, which included the consolidation of some of its UK warehouses,” reads a Castore statement.
“This presented challenges to the business, which adverse effects on both our operations and our customers’ ordering experience.
“Management mitigated these impacts by increasing staffing levels temporarily and reducing promotional activities during the period, however, trading was adversely affected over the second half of the period.
“The company also incurred additional costs to ensure customers’ orders were fulfilled and the company took a significant write off of stock as a result of stock missing the optimum clearance window.”
It’s been a challenging year for Castore, who have felt the impact of Premier League clubs like Aston Villa and Newcastle United ripping up their contracts with the retailer.
Losing Rangers would be a hammer blow to Castore’s retail ambitions but with the launch of the Ibrox 125 Heritage Kit, they’ll certainly win favour with some supporters.
