Coming soon, but don't hold your breath

[Eddie Arzouian]

It has been almost a year since the button went up on the Canadian CYCLING Association web site but when you click on "Merchandise" here is what you get:


" MERCHANDISE


Coming soon ...

Copyright © Canadian Cycling Association. All rights reserved."​

Yeah, right!

It has also been about one month since the Canadian CYCLING Association hired Kim Sebrango, a woman with ZERO CYCLING EXPERIENCE, as their Director of Marketing Operations. What has she done in that time other than begin to learn how things work? By December she should be up to minimum functioning speed but the 2006 season will be already lost to sponsors. Oh well, we can wait until 2007 but I'm betting she will quit or be fired before then.

Are we any closer to being able to buy CCYCLINGA merchandise on-line?

Do you think COO Steve Lacelle, another CCYCLINGA employee with ZERO CYCLING EXPERIENCE, is anywhere near selling the 5000 National CYCLING Team jersey as he planned in his 90-day report? I bet he has sold 100.

It is now almost 180 days, so we can look forward to Steve telling all about his failure and offering excuses soon. He can take his cue from Canadian CYCLING Association President Bill Kinash, he's been doing that for almost three years.

Mom&Pop business with three employees can get their goods out for sale on the Internet but not the CCA with its MBA!

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So merchandise is coming soon.​

Do you think many people in Canada will buy CYCLING jerseys in October?​

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Remember that in October 2004 after winning her Olympic Gold Medal Lori-Ann Meunzer said in a national interview to Canadian Press if she had held her breath waiting for CCA President Bill Kinash to call to congratulate her she would be dead...​

Kinash respects neither sport nor its athletes.​

He hires people who do the same.​

 

[Eddie Arzouian]

Here is a suggestion for Canadian Cycling Association Chief Operating Officer, Steve Lacelle.


Steve has only five months of on-the-job-training in cycling and no other practical experience in the sport. That is probably what qualified him for the job, knowing less about cycling than CCA President Bill Kinash. Steve does have an MBA.

Both former Interim Director Brett Stewart and Lister Farrar of BC, both of whom know much more about cycling applied for the job but were not selected. Probably because they know too much about cycling.

Now I only have a lowly B.A. but it is from McGill, so that's like a Master's Degree from most other universities in Canada.

On the other hand, I have 33 years of cycling experience and I have already sold 5000 Evian Team jerseys. Now both Steve with his MBA and me with my 33 years of experience can probably agree on this: SOMETHING is better than NOTHING, at least in most cases.

So, eventhough it has proven far too complicated in five months for Steve to make the merchandising component of the CCA web site work, how about simply pasting a few pictures of the jerseys and other promotional items for sales (are there other items???? Does Steve have any idea what else he could sell? No way of knowing..)

Somebody said the CDN National team jerseys are available in shops some place. I do not know if it is true. Since it was posted on forum, it may not be. But if it is why not tell us where the merchandise is available??????

That would be a start some place, wouldn't it?

This suggestion may be too practical for somebody with an MBA, so you may want to do a study......

Since the jerseys have Tim Horton's splashed all over them, and there are about 5000 Tim Horton's shops across North America, if each shop sold only 1 jersey that would be 5000, wouldn't it?

 

[Eddie Arzouian]

It's up!!! It's up!!!

The CCA merchandising is up and runing on their web site.

Finally, for August the site is running. That only took about a year.

The timing is great, too. Just in time for back-to-school. You can buy your kids CDN national team jersey to wear to school. Buy a CCA water bottle for their lunch boxes.

Perfect.

Yup, August and September are big selling periods for cycling clothes in Canada! I suppose you can buy for Christmas. It is never too early. In January you could sell CCA bathing suits. I'm sure Kim Sebrango (who knows nothing about cycling) would like to sell CCA soccer shorts and tops.

Must have items for those cycling tournaments, aye, Kim!!!

So where do you think CCA COO Steve Lacelle (who has six months of cycling experience now) stands on his plan to sell 5000 (five thousand)national team jerseys this year?

Do you think he has sold 100 yet? Do you think we will hear how many he has sold? Will we be able to believe the number?

Only a year to get somethign running that should have taken about 30 days. That's not bad for an MBA. It looks like he might have even done it without forming a committee but we cannot be sure about that...