LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB MERCHANDISE NOW AT REJECT SHOP NATIONWIDE!

kee@fswmag.com

LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB MERCHANDISE IS NOW ON SALE AT REJECT SHOPS THROUGHOUT MALAYSIA.

LIVERPOOL FC WILL BE IN KUALA LUMPUR TO PLAY AGAINST MALAYSIA XI AT NATIONAL STADIUM IN BUKIT JALIL ON 16 JULY 2011.

TICKETS ARE ON SALE AT REJECT SHOPS

Left; Chan Lai Hing, Pel Loh Executive Director of Metrojaya and Richard Liaw of Retro Development.

Yup, all the signatures are there

Mick Maniam and Richard Liaw of Retro Development of Singapore

The coveted Liverpool jersey signed by all current players and worth maybe RM 200,000! There are only 2 and the other is in China.

All I can see is myself but trust me, the names are all there and so is the certificate of authenticity.

The Reject Shop staff giving a big cheer

Kee Hua Chee, Steven Gerrard, Richard Liaw, Alice Tan and Mick Maniam

Henry Golding the TV celebrity and general hunk happened to walk past shopping with his mother and got roped in.

See, at only RM 6o (donate the 10 sen la) you must buy the originals!

Super cool!

There are 34 styles

Run to the nearest Reject Shop to grab your tee!

Note the hologram tag----only genuine Liverpool FC garments and accessories have such tags!

Make sure you don't reject this hologram tag! Keep it or better still, wear it!

The more you buy, the more gifts you get!


Fans of Liverpool Football Club, commonly referred simply as Liverpool, can now satiate their urges to don the colours, insignia and design elements of their favourite FC. For the uninformed, FC stands for Football Club the same way FB is now universally assumed to mean Facebook just as FO is supposed to mean F**k Off or in truly polite circles it means 'Fresh Orange'.

Anyway Pel Loh, executive director of Metrojaya Berhad which owns Reject Shop launched the arrival of Liverpool goodies in the presence of Chan Lai Hing, assistant GM of Property & Projects of Metrojaya and Alice Tan , deputy GM of Marketing. Also present were the top guns from Retro Development Private Limited from Singapore, Richard Liaw Managing director and Mick Maniam, senior brand consultant.

Despite its name, Retro is very forward thinking and is also official licensee for FIFA World Cup 2006 and 2010. I was too polite to ask what happened to 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011 as you know how diplomatic and shy I am about asking niggly questions. I did ask why they selected Retro rather than Future as 'Future Development' sounds quite nice don't you think? They said it had to do with the good old days...
Well the good old days also included 2009 as they were the Official Licensee for 2009 Manchester United Asia Tour.

So from Retro we move to Reject...maybe these two have more in common than we suspect! If one is not stuck in the past, one is rejected! Anyway these are the names of their successful businesses so whatever I say is water bouncing off the proverbial duck's beak. In other words, no effect at all and rejected by the bird's waterproof beak.

Reject Shop obviously has been hugely accepted by Malaysians as it is now 21 years old! It started life in 199o and now has around 40 branches nationwide which is more than many other companies with salubrious names.

Let's get one thing clear. Despite its name 'Reject Shop', ALL the merchandise sold here, from socks to underwear to jackets and pants and Liverpool FC garments are BRAND NEW and in PERFECT condition. In USA, such shops started when they sold imperfect, damaged or defective goods and advertised as such which was fine. I went to huge discount villages in USA and bought shirts at US$1 to US$2 each and was happy with missing buttons, slightly stained shirts, jeans with a missing belt loop and a fantastic jacket (US$10) with its original price tag of US$250 as it had stains which I was told was unremovable. But as the two stains the size of 20 sen coins and 1 stain the size of 10 sen coin were not glaringly visible I could get away with it. I would never pay US$ 250 for it as I would demand it to be in mint condition. I wouldn't even pay US$50 for it but at US$10 I grabbed it since it was brand new and its only sins were stains and I myself am slightly tainted...

After all, I have bought brand new clothes in perfect condition only to have red wine and curry spilled on them within hours of wearing them which was even more tragic.

Reject Shops in Malaysia sell only new items in excellent condition at great value, hence its appeal. You will also notice there is a sad lack of crystal chandeliers hand blown in Italy, deep pile Persian carpets that make your shoes sink several inches inside and sales assistant wearing Louis Vuitton suits offering you champagne the moment you step in. The airconditioning ducts and pipes are also all exposed but nicely painted. This explains why the prices are kept low!

Beamed Pel Loh, "Reject Shop offers customers quality merchandise at great value prices in pleasant but no frills environment. These stores sell quality, branded garments and accessories from off-season stocks, discontinued lines and late order cancellations."

Even so, Reject Shop is in the process of upgrading its stores and re-branding its business operations to project itself as a hip and cool lifestyle fashion retailer. As Pel Loh added, "It is hip to be rebellious!"

Buying at Reject Shop is cool in a perverse way the same way the merely rich happily pay through their noses at Hermes. The main reason Retro Group appointed Reject Shop as Official Retailer for the Liverpool Asia Tour 2011 merchandise is due to its network of 40 stores across Malaysia including Sabah and Sarawak. Its parent Metrojaya, among Malaysia's most successful retail groups, does not have so many stores. Of course Metrojaya will also sell Liverpool stuff and at the same prices which lead me to wonder why the franchise was not given to Metrojaya and then made available for sale at all Reject Shops! Then again, I am not running Metrojaya...

I asked Alice Tan if the name Reject Shop might be changed or at least modified as 'reject' means 'pushed aside', 'discarded' or 'thrown out', as in "He rejected my sexual advances" or "My business plan was rejected by every bank" or "Reject Satan, accept Christ!". I just love drama, don't you?

Alice Tan declined to comment as expected since it is not for her to jump the gun. Perhaps Reject Shop could be called RS the same way SE Asia's biggest financial institution DBS Bank used to be Development Bank of Singapore. Even here, few know what CIMB stands for and it is the second largest bank in Malaysia.

Or Reject Shop could be shortened to 'Eject Shop' which is cooler than cool! Press the eject button and you shoot out or ejaculate! If that is too sexual ( I don't think so at all but some of my highclass friends say so as they were brought up differently) Reject Shop could be modified to 'Re-Value Shop' or Value Shop which is simple, straightforward and cannot be any clearer.

As a token of appreciation, Richard Liaw presented Pel Loh (who accepted on behalf of Metrojaya so she couldn't sell it later) with an original Liverpool FC jersey signed by all current players of Liverpool FC. Just in case you suspect Richard and Pel signed the jersey themselves as some of the signatures are indecipherable, it comes with a certificate of authenticity! This treasure is only one of two and the other one is in China. If you were to sell it on eBay it would probably go for a few hundred thousand ringgit!

There are more than 30 designs for round neck and polo t-shirts for men, women and children. Another great scoring point is the price----from RM50 to RM 80. Actually it is RM 49.90 to RM 79.90 but I HATE all those pathetic 10 sen as no one in the right mind would mistake RM 49.90 for RM 49!

Manchester United once opened their standalone store at Lot 10 to great fanfare but could not last as each t-shirt was going for RM 200 to under RM 400. Liverpool should last as it is not a standalone boutique but part of a huge store and occupies only a corner though a prominent one at the entrance. At only RM 50, hardcore fans and even neutral ones will buy the original
item rather than imitations at pasar malam.

"Each original Liverpool FC merchandise comes with a costly hologram tag which proves its authenticity!" declared Pel Loh as she showed the hologram tag that is attached to all the garments and accessories. Only items carrying this tag are REAL! These holograms are too complicated and costly for fakers to produce!

SPECIAL GIFTS WITH PURCHASE!

* SPEND RM 150 AND GET A PASS TO WATCH LIVERPOOL TRAINING SESSION

* SPEND RM 200 AND RECEIVE A COLLECTIBLE LIVERPOOL FC POSTER 2 FT BY 3 FT

* SPEND 1,000 AND GET VIP TICKET FOR THE LIVERPOOL VS MALAYSIA XI MATCH!

* SPEND RM 1 MILLION AND GET TO DINE WITH STEVEN GERRARD

OK SO THE LAST ONE IS A LIE BY ME BUT THEN AGAIN, I AM SURE PEL LOH CAN COOK UP SOMETHING IF YOU REALLY SPEND RM 1 MILLION ON LFC!

WHATEVER THE CASE, 'YOU WILL NEVER WALK ALONE' IN A LIVERPOOL FC TEE-SHIRT! YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS ARE BOUND TO WALK TOGETHER AT SUCH AFFORDABLE PRICES!

APPAREL; RM 49.90 TOO RM 79.90
ACCESSORIES; Caps RM 6o
Football; RM 80
Scarf; RM 37
Mug; RM 37
Key ring; RM 30
Body flag; RM 47
Pennant; RM 37
Shirt pin; RM 27

THE END