As part of the next phase of the football club's growth plan, we are pleased to announce the opening of an official club retail unit and community hub on George Street, a highly visible location in the heart of the town centre's Stamford Quarter.

As we look to increase the awareness and presence of the football club in the town, the unit will allow supporters to shop all things Alty in person five days a week, rather than just matchdays, as well as giving us a central base to sell match tickets, season tickets and hospitality. There will also be a major community outreach focus, with regular events delivered by Altrincham FC Community Sports.

Club director, John Coyne, commented: "I'm delighted to finally announce this initiative. It's something I've written about previously in articles and, whilst retail online and matchday is thriving, opening a store for retail alone was a tough investment to justify. Aligning retail with a clear need to increase awareness of the club - in terms of our fixtures, events and community programmes - made the business case much simpler. The reality is we need to increase attendances and therefore we are hopeful that this exposure will support a solid part of that objective."

With Christmas around the corner, the club are working around the clock to get the unit open as quickly as possible, and we are working towards a December 4th opening. This date is subject to change, however, with a number of third party dependencies and therefore we will announce an official open date as soon as possible, along with details of an event to accompany the unveiling (update: now slated to open slightly later than planned).

With this exciting addition, our existing merchandise operation is being tweaked both online and at The J.Davidson Stadium on Matchday.

Coyne continued: "We're a small team as everyone knows, and therefore this will add some internal pressures in terms of stock management across different locations, as well as resource. We've analysed in depth what we sell on a matchday at the retail pop-up in the CSH, and it's almost exclusively the staple classics - replica kit, scarves, hats and badges. Our offering on a matchday will be reduced to those products, whilst the store and website will carry every product that we stock. The space we will now benefit from will also allow us to introduce many new ranges that were previously restricted due to space at the stadium."

"We will measure the success of this plan over the initial few months, and tweak our offering where required. We have some key objectives, but more than anything we are looking forward to meeting people; whether they be new contacts who might not know a lot about the club, or existing fans who want to come and talk to us about our hospitality offering on a matchday, buy a ticket, meet a player or two or just have a chat over a coffee."

The club is extremely grateful to the support of Bruntwood and the Stamford Quarter team who have worked closely with us to turn this plan into reality, and we have a number of town centre events planned over the next couple of weeks which will be communicated in due course. 

James Tootle, Head of Retail & Leisure at Bruntwood said: "We are delighted that Altrincham FC is opening a store and a community hub right here in the Stamford Quarter. We are a proud sponsor of the team's volunteer programme and we are delighted to be working with the club and support its growth plan to reach even more members of the local community. The shop will provide another outlet to purchase merchandise and tickets and it will also serve as a hub for events. It joins our mix of independent and national brands and will fit perfectly into George Street."

The Key Details

● A central location in the heart of Altrincham
● A community hub with events and classes to benefit the local community, as well as information about the club
● A retail store open 5 days a week, closed Monday and Tuesday
● The store will be entirely cashless with the ability to purchase retail products, match and season
tickets, hospitality, event tickets and much more
● A key presence for the Altrincham FC Community team, along with meet the player events and educational opportunities
● A breakout area with the option for supporters to come in and have a coffee and chat

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Community opportunity: We are looking for volunteers who would be happy to get involved in supporting this initiative, especially those with a strong knowledge of the club and our history, who are available to be in store, even if it is just limited availability. If that sounds like you, please let us know via store@altyfc.com.

(with thanks to Stamford Quarter & Bruntwood for the picture)