Part of United manager Keith Millen’s welcome to Carlisle was a trip to see Carol Roberts, owner of Goodfellows Menswear on Warwick Road, who had come up with the excellent idea of providing a slightly different kind of sponsorship package for the club’s new gaffer.
Carol contacted the commercial department at the club to see what could be done and, having spoken to Martyn Vevers, very quickly confirmed that a suit from the exclusive Marc Darcy range could well be perfect for the job.
“When I spoke to Carol it was clear that she wanted to find a different way of providing a bit of support for the club, and for the new manager in particular,” Martyn told us.
“She very quickly came up with the fantastic idea of getting Keith measured up for a new suit, which he could wear to the stadium on match days.
“Carol told us that Marc Darcy, who she works with closely, have a lot of links with clubs at all levels and, if you pardon the pun, it seemed like the perfect fit.”
Having come up with a plan, it was then down to fine-tuning, with an initial target of the Barrow game set for the first airing of the new attire.
A measuring, selection and fitting timetable was scheduled, with the finished Marc Darcy suit delivered in the nick of time, 24-hours ahead of kick off.
“We went with the Marc Darcy Max Royal Blue three-piece suit, which is perfect for Carlisle United because the colours match perfectly,” Carol told us. “And we do have it in stock if anybody else would like to look as smart as the manager!
“It will be great to see Keith wearing the suit around Brunton Park on match days. Marc Darcy is very well known, they do a lot in Manchester, Birmingham and up in Scotland, with some very famous footballers wearing their suits, and they’ve now extended that by sponsoring Keith through our connection with the club.
“Marc Darcy do a lot of sponsorship within football and other sports, and with some well know stars from the world of acting as well. That’s why we felt this would be a really good thing for all parties to do.
“Obviously it’s a really nice suit, but it’s also a good chance to promote the range and our shop, at the same time as supporting our local football club. We hope it helps to bring him plenty of luck in his new position.”
A feature of the process was the friendly and professional manner in which it was handled, from the first meeting all the way through to final fitting.
“We pride ourselves on that,” Carol said. “At Goodfellows Menswear, which is named after my grandfather, it’s important to me and everyone here that we do things properly and efficiently.
“Goodfellows was born out of Carol’s Bridal Boutique - we started the hire wear and wedding wear in there - then about two years ago we decided to take the two floors above the barber, which is next door, to expand the premises and provide more room.
“We’ve created something exclusive in Carlisle, we provide smart casual wear as well as wedding wear and suits for special occasions. We have a lot of suits in stock and a great collection of footwear.
“We provide quality suits at great prices. We offer Marc Darcy, Torrey and Cavani suits, so if you’re looking for a suit under £200 we have some beautiful options.
“We aren’t exclusive in price, you’ll just be exclusively looked after by our great team here when you come and see us, and it’s good to be able to point out that we also have suit options for women available.”
Having worn the suit for the first time as he headed into the stadium on Saturday, Keith said: “I can’t thank Carol and the staff at Goodfellows enough, they were absolutely brilliant.
“I could tell when I first got there to meet everybody that they had a clear idea of what they wanted to do, and that made it all seem such an easy process.
“The Marc Darcy suit is magnificent, and I think it created a really good impression and set a good tone when I came into work on Saturday morning with it on.
“Thank you once again to Carol and her team. I can certainly recommend their services, they are extremely professional, knowledgeable and thorough.”
Click HERE for more information on Goodfellows Menswear.
