The Celtic Shop – The Celtic Wiki

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aka: The Celtic Shop, The Celtic Store, Celtic Superstore

The Celtic Shop/Store

Every club has one, even the wee teams, and it’s a definite stop for any supporter. The Club shop is a little commercial mecca for all supporters to see and sample the set of official branded goods for purchase.

The main stock is the club shirts, kits, books, DVDs and pictures/photos. However, the shops need to sell far more and the stores are filled full of Celtic branded goods. From one end there are expensive goods like jewellery, but the vast lot is a lot of tatt. Things like Celtic mugs, bed covers, t-shirts, toys and even toasters fill the shelves for people to gorge themselves on.

Why some people need to buy some of these goods is really up to them, but even this writer doesn’t see the need for a home bedecked in full colours to prove anything. Only the most Ubercelt could dream of a wholly green and white home in colours, but the odd piece is fun.

It’s only since Fergus McCann took over that the club shop was properly treated. Before hand the club shop at Celtic was a small joke. To prove how little attention it was given, a bit of nepotism from a former chief executive at Celtic saw him place his son in charge at the club merchandise and make a hash of it.

Up to the mid 1990s, there were only two Celtic shops, one at Celtic Park and the other close to Queen St station. Both were small diddy shops that didn’t reflect the potential of the club’s brands, selling very little and generally of poor quality. If anything it was another sign of the commercial mishandling by the old boards.

Since the Celtic Takeover, the commercial side underwent an overhaul pulling the Celtic Shops kicking and screaming into the modern age. A new Celtic shop was built at Celtic Park which was re-branded fittingly as the Celtic Superstore, and this new place is a big market filled to the rafters with everything. A much more fitting place for the club’s wares. Always packed on match days earning revenue for the club. Also has a great range of many Celtic books and DVDs which can be otherwise hard to source.

The next big change was opening further branches which began in the late 1990s. Now there are a number of big branches, including the big store in Argyle St, one in Glasgow Airport (to capture tourists), one in Edinburgh and one in Belfast. Despite what traditionalists say, this is a good way to promote the club. Makes it easier to source tickets, find books, buy the odd bit of Celtic goods and meet others in the Celtic family. They have really played a great part in building a bridge between the club and the support.

Now, there is also the online internet store (since early 2000’s) which helps to supplement or even surpass the bricks and mortar stores. This has helped the support, spread out as we are globally, to keep in touch and again helps promote the club as well as raise revenue.

The Celtic stores are something we may now take for granted, but take a wee step back and you will see its vital need and place in the modern Celtic story. Without them many of us would be lost and they provide a need that only official sources can.