I’m in no position to comment on the potential financial arrangements of such a venture; I’m comparing to how I know the Scout Shop works.
While we currently get our uniform “for free at point of use” (I’ve no idea which budget it eventually comes out of) the current service, at least in my area, is attrocious with orders being delivered at least 3 months later (if not longer) and often not containing the items you ordered. And of course, while waiting all that time, your cadets have then grown by several feet!
Not sure why everybody keeps going on about the Scout shop… there is another Youth Organisation far closer to home where they already have this system. Include the supply of MOD uniform - and it’s linked and verified via Westminster…
We have a system at work called iBuy we all get a certain number of points per year, you order what you need and it’s delivered to a local delivery hub. (You get 16 points per year and most clothing is 1 or 2 points, sexy things are 50 points so you have to see a Supervisor).
A bit niche, for people attending. Would you buy stuff if you didn’t go? To make money you need broad appeal, which at the very least means dated items from all years so people who went that year can get a new thing or something they didn’t buy at the time.
Nah we want something like this linked to getting scaled uniform not memorabilia or rip off tat. In this day and age the method we use for getting uniform is poor.
It’s at county level I used to be able to email our CAA (admin assistant) and it was either dropped off by him on a parade evening or I could pop in and pick it up from the quartermaster.
Picking it up was quicker, but it would never be longer than 2-3 parade evenings before it was dropped off. If you had a large intake it would normally be there the following evening.
The best bit was that you ordered for each individual cadet, it would always come with a name on it and wrapped up together so I never had to sort through it, just pass it straight to the cadet as soon as it arrived.
