SU ends contract with sports kit supplier after late orders

The SU have terminated the contract with with sports apparel supplier Beyond Limits Known (BLK), after several sports clubs failed to receive kit orders on time for this year.

BLK had been supplying kit to Warwick’s sports clubs since September 2015, and Sports Officer Ted Crowson said the decision to end the contract was made after “listening to the sports clubs’ views”.

Crowson pointed to the “misunderstanding” surrounding the relationship between BLK and Speed One Sports (SOS) who sell the specific Warwick University apparel designed by BLK, as the reasoning for the termination. In the terms of their agreement, clubs were only supposed to go through BLK for kit and this caused confusion and problems.

Given that the SU were at its most busy period at the beginning of the year, Crowson said that the issues came at a “very difficult time”, but insists the SU dealt with it as quickly as they could.

“We want what’s best for all our sports teams, so when this issue arose we dealt with it as quickly as we could, while being considerate of the right way to act. The sports clubs are our priority and we were in constant communication with both BLK UK and SOS.”

As a result, the SU took action three weeks into the academic year, stating it was “necessary”, as they felt that the supplier “couldn’t provide the correct kit”.

The SU are aiming to put contingency plans into place as quickly as possible, with the aim of finding a new centralised kit supplier by the end of term 2.