Alfa Romeo Owners Club of Australia Forum

General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Paul Gulliver on March 17, 2019, 08:08:40 PM

Title: SHAME ALFA ROMEO
Post by: Paul Gulliver on March 17, 2019, 08:08:40 PM
Sad state of affairs at the GP. Second appearance for Alfa Romeo in Melbourne and they still can't organise any track side merchandise. You can get a Force India cap but nothing from Alfa Romeo. I wonder what marketing guru is responsible for that.
Title: Re: SHAME ALFA ROMEO
Post by: Campbeli on March 17, 2019, 08:10:38 PM
That is a shame- I asked a mate to pick up a Kimi cap- looks like he'll come back empty handed .


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Title: Re: SHAME ALFA ROMEO
Post by: Colin Edwards on March 17, 2019, 08:29:20 PM
Mmmmm........... we grabbed two polo shirts on Friday and another on Saturday.  Was also gear there today.  Saw two types of caps and an umbrella.  Not a lot, but need to factor in Alfa Romeo have landed a couple of major sponsors over the last 2 - 3 weeks. 

Go Kimi!
Title: Re: SHAME ALFA ROMEO
Post by: Paul Gulliver on March 17, 2019, 09:27:24 PM
I'm in Sydney at the moment . My daughter went Friday & Saturday and couldn't find anything. I'm glad you looked a little harder Colin. Apologies to any offended marketing guru's.
Title: Re: SHAME ALFA ROMEO
Post by: GeeTV on March 18, 2019, 09:08:41 AM
I'm no marketing expert, and I totally get that Ricciardo & Renault were always going to rule the airways.
However, I would've thought the Kimi-Alfa show may've made a little more noise whilst in town!?!?!

AND please don't get me started on the Stelvio slogan,... 'The only SUV you choose with your heart'.
Really???... A great excuse for non-Alfisti to be thinking that's because it's reliability is suspect and it will depreciate & rust faster than Bottas!!
The only reason to buy an Alfa is because you love how it looks????.... WRONG!
Title: Re: SHAME ALFA ROMEO
Post by: lombardi on March 18, 2019, 11:57:25 AM
Was at albert park on friday to watch 2 practice sessions , car looks awesome n was excited about getting some goodies to show my support , ie tshirt sticker cap , all the outlets had nutting bar one , reduced to the polo shirt at $ 200 LOL , beyond my budget n really not that attractive anyhow , bit tacky ,  maybe ebay in the future could be the way to go...
Title: Re: SHAME ALFA ROMEO
Post by: GTV-074 on March 18, 2019, 01:35:33 PM
Charity starts at home as they say ...

I was fortunate enough to visit the Alfa Museum last October and I thought the range of 'goods' available in their 'store' (and i use the term loosely)
was very poor.

Very basic range, items out of stock, no real service by the attendant. I was expecting some huge range of items after the Museum re-opening thinking
they finally have their act together but it could,should be a thousand times better.

They really need to get organised on this front - go see the way Ferrari do it.

I couldn't even find a decent coffee mug to buy to perhaps retire the one i use now that I purchased at AROCA back in the late 80's!

Needs to be better all around.....
Title: Re: SHAME ALFA ROMEO
Post by: Colin Edwards on March 18, 2019, 05:50:58 PM
I can only comment on what I saw and was told over the four days of the OZ F1 GP. 
Thursday - NO Alfa gear - "I heard it may be in the warehouse tomorrow"
Friday morning - NO Alfa gear - "we are expecting it around midday"
Friday Arvo - Polo shirts only - I bought two!
Saturday - Polo shirts, umbrellas and two different design caps.  Bought another polo shirt!
Sunday - most stock sold - "not expecting any further deliveries"

The Ferrari followers outnumber all others combined by about 3:1. Can't afford a Ferrari but happy to spend on merchandise!  Cant blame em!
I reckon over the four days I saw maybe 200 people wearing Alfa merchandise that was sold at the venue.  Not bad considering I didnt venture far from the Fangio Stand and the GP Advantage bar! 

The market for Ferrari gear is huge.  Alfa (at the moment) would not be in the same state let alone the same street.  At the GP last year NO Alfa gear was available.  Next year who knows?

Given Alfa have just very recently landed New Balance and Shell as major sponsors, its fair to assume a greater range is in the pipeline and it would have to feature New Balance and Shell logos as well as the existing ones.  Knocking this together doesn't happen overnight. 

Not making excuses for Alfa Romeo (Fiat!) marketing, but we need to add a bit of perspective.  Nothing on the Sauber Alfa Romeo Racing web site shop either. 


Title: Re: SHAME ALFA ROMEO
Post by: Joe Garra on March 18, 2019, 11:34:34 PM
Wore my old AROCA cap Saturday and was quizzed by a lady in an Alfa top two rows behind me in the Fangio - none other than our president! Managed to but a cap later for$80!  Agree that the lack of merchandise was disappointing. I even looked on line and couldn't find much.
Title: Re: SHAME ALFA ROMEO
Post by: As the day goes on March 19, 2019, 05:26:03 AM
They were selling F1 gear at Southbank.  People at work were larfing about $80 for a cap!!!  My god I only spent $25 for one at the airshow a couple of weeks ago.
Title: Re: SHAME ALFA ROMEO
Post by: Citroënbender on March 19, 2019, 07:42:18 AM
A genuine "Made in Italy" Borsalino baseball cap is €130 RRP.

I'd hope the $80 Alfa cap has some provenance - not an overpriced piece of PRC-made tat.
Title: Re: SHAME ALFA ROMEO
Post by: Paul Gulliver on March 19, 2019, 07:37:14 PM
Thursday - NO Alfa gear - "I heard it may be in the warehouse tomorrow"
Friday morning - NO Alfa gear - "we are expecting it around midday"
Friday Arvo - Polo shirts only - I bought two!
Saturday - Polo shirts, umbrellas and two different design caps.  Bought another polo shirt!
Sunday - most stock sold - "not expecting any further deliveries"

Doesn't that just encapsulate the whole Alfa Romeo Story . Everybody knew the GP started Thursday. Its ben in the calendar for over 6 months. Alfa still can't get it self organized. Great intend and purpose . Appalling execution.
Title: Re: SHAME ALFA ROMEO
Post by: aggie57 on March 20, 2019, 02:17:16 AM
Yeah, and the local dealer here in one of the most affluent counties in the US has closed......same old, same old in many ways sadly.  Wonder why you can now buy a Giulia sedan for less than 1/2 it's original sticker price.
Title: Re: SHAME ALFA ROMEO
Post by: f1worldchamp on March 21, 2019, 01:59:03 PM
I was there Sat & Sun. I spoke with the team at the stand when they only had the polo shirts ($200!) and the umbrella. They said there would be caps coming 'later', which were there when I went back just before qualifying. Got a team cap for $80, and they also had Raikkonnen and Giovanazzi caps which were selling fast.
So 1 type of shirt, 3 caps and 1 umbrella was the total sum of what I saw.
Title: Re: SHAME ALFA ROMEO
Post by: Colin Edwards on June 18, 2019, 12:29:38 PM
https://www.alfaromeoracingstore.com/default.htm

Title: Re: SHAME ALFA ROMEO
Post by: Paul Gulliver on June 18, 2019, 01:02:16 PM
Thank's Colin. Good get . Just wondering if they are late for this year or early for next year