About Macron & Macron Store Gloucester

WHO WE ARE

Macron is a European leader company in the production and sale of sportswear, operating in four main business areas: teamwear - sportswear and accessories for team sports (football, rugby, basketball, volleyball, baseball, handball, futsal, running); merchandising - official kits, free time products and accessories for the supporters of the clubs sponsored by Macron; running & fitness - technical apparel for individual runners and for training sessions in the gym; athleisure – sports inspired apparel for leisure time, for those who wish to wear Macron even outside pure sports activities. Macron owes its success to the capacity of interpreting the needs and demands of those who do sport, developing high quality and technicality products.

From an entirely Italian clientele, Macron now distributes 30% of its products in Italy and the remaining 70% to the rest of the world. The turnover has grown significantly year after year; Macron is now on the the sportswear brands with the most rapid growth in Europe.

MACRON IN NUMBERS TODAY

• Number of employees - 230
• Multibrand stores - 800
• Macron Stores - 123
• Units sold per year - 5.2+ million
• Sponsored professional clubs - 50+

PHILOSOPHY

Macron strongly believes in the values of hard work and constant improvement. Sport requires effort, sweat and strong will, and Macron knows it. Bearing in mind this philosophy, Macron has entered the sports world as a small yet strong player. Since then, Macron has been growing at a very fast pace,supporting teams, sportsmen and women at all levels, working hard to supply them with the best technical products to help improve their performances. Our will is our strength. Work Hard. Play Harder.

 HISTORY

		1971 Macron is founded in Bologna and starts its business as the exclusive Italian distributor of baseball equipment on behalf of MacGregor USA and other American baseball brands
		1974 Macron acquires Record Sports and, in addition to distributing sports equipment, starts producing kits for professional baseball, basketball and volleyball teams on behalf of other brands.
		2001 Macron’s adventure in professional football begins with the first sponsorship of a top-level club: Bologna FC 1909. From that moment, the Macron brand begins to be seen on the official kits of some of the world’s most renowned teams.
		2005 Macron starts its expansion abroad: from Italy to Europe, over to the United States, Canada, Australia and all the way to the Middle East. Macron products are worn by a growing number of professional and amateur athletes. In the same year Macron signs its first sponsorship contract abroad with Swansea City FC.
		2007 The steady growth of the company is reflected in the ever-increasing range of products, including apparel for rugby and handball.
		2010 The Macron Store project is launched: a unique outlet displaying the full range of Macron products, from teamwear to accessories, from merchandising to leisurewear. Macron also opens its Official Online Shop bringing supporters closer to their teams, through the sale of official merchandise.
		2012 Macron introduces the Athleisure collection, designed for those who like to wear Macron even in their free time.
		2013 Macron signs its first technical sponsorship contract with a national team: Scottish Rugby Union, confirming Macron as a leader in rugby
		2014 Macron becomes technical sponsor of Bolton Wanderers FC and acquires the naming rights for the club's stadium, which is now known as the Macron Stadium.
		2015 Under the supervision and advice of professional athletes, Macron conceives its Running collection, characterized by technicality, functionality and design.
		2016 Macron signs it first technical sponsorship with a national football team, Albania, playing in the European Championship in France the same year, marking an absolute record in the number of jerseys sold.
		2017 Numerous new sponsorships enrich Macron’s outstanding portfolio in new and traditional markets. In “The European Club footballing landscape” UEFA lists Macron as the third most important supplier in the world of European football.
		2018 UEFA chooses Macron as its official partner for the supply of apparel to the smaller football federations for the years 2018-2022. In addition, Macron becomes the official league kit provider of Canadian Premier League (CPL) beginning with the 2019 season. “A new Hero is born”: Macron presents the restyling of its logo, which contains a new icon: the Macron Hero, with a more modern, sharper and determined character.

HOW A PRODUCT IS CONCEIVED

1. THE ORIGINS OF THE CONCEPT
• Market surveys and trend studies.
• Study and research of fabrics and accessories.
• In the case of sponsored clubs; the study of the history of the team and research of inspirational images.
2. DEVELOPING THE PATTERNS
• Definition of style and colours by means of graphic rendering
• Study of pattern development to valorise the athletes figure
3. FROM MODEL TO PROTOTYPE
• Digital creation of the model; from the graphic rendering to the CAD realisation of the base size
• Virtual 3D prototyping; dressing of a virtual model during the modelling stage, allowing the checking of proportions and the fitting (in all sizes), optimising stages of prototyping and reducing the processing time
• Achievement of the first prototype. Fitting test. Quality control and development of the size set
4. INDUSTRIALISATION
• Definition of the artwork and specs. Pre-production sampling.
5. ATTENTION TO DETAILS
• Quality, sewing details, choice of accessories and graphics (patches, embroidery, badges, labels)
• Continuous research of new technical materials to meet the performance needs of the different sports
• Hi-end collections

LOGISTICS

For the best service, the inner divisions of Macron collaborate. with a constant synergy to offer their clients the best logistic support and integrated solutions to cover the full chain. All of the distribution of the Macron products is managed by two highly technological warehouses in Bologna and Monselice (near Padua) where up to 50,000 units are handled daily, thus reducing delivery to many places to just two days. This makes Macron one of the most up to date companies in Europe.

UEFA KIT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME

Macron is the official partner in the UEFA Kit Assistance Scheme. The scheme was set up by UEFA's Top Executive Programme to assist smaller football associations. Macron won the UEFA tender in 2017 to design and produce unique collections in collaboration with each association. For the first two years, at the the mens national A-teams and the Under 21 teams of as many as eight associations (Andorra, Armenia, Belarus, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and San Marino) will proudly wear Macron from April 2018.

ABOUT MACRON STORE GLOUCESTER

Located just off junction 11A M5 in the South West of England, Macron Store Gloucester was the first UK Macron Sportswear store serving customers at local, regional and national level across many different sports.

On top of the wide range of Macron Sportswear items, customers are offered a full customisation service including embroidery, vinyl/DTG printing on garments and club merchandise such as mugs, hats, key rings etc. Help with logo design is also available upon request.  Our aim is to help you every step of the way to ensure your team kit stands out above the rest.

An online club shop is available to clubs who have multiple teams and require a virtual shop for their uniform sales.  If you would prefer, we are also able to provide sizing sessions at your ground at the start of your season to facilitate the players in getting their customised kit as early as possible.

For all queries please call Macron Store Gloucester who will be happy to assist +44 (0)1452 386400.