A temporary shop which has made Wrexham Football Club almost \u00a360,000 during its storming FA Trophy run is set to stay open for an extra week.<\/p>\n
And the club took quick advantage of the extension on Saturday by putting the gleaming trophy itself on display at the shop at the Eagles Meadow shopping centre\u00a0 so fans could have their picture taken beside it.<\/p>\n
In the past few weeks since the club hit the glory trail to Wembley the store has been doing a roaring trade in official club merchandise, including shirts, tee-shirts, hats and the big foam hands which helped make for some memorable scenes as jubilant fans waved them at the\u00a0 final against Grimsby Town.<\/p>\n
Eagles Meadow bosses had originally arranged for the club to use it until Easter weekend.<\/p>\n
But it has continued to do so well in the aftermath\u00a0 of the historic trophy victory\u00a0 – the first time a Welsh club has had its name on the coveted piece of silverware \u2013 that they have now agreed to allow it to stay in business until Friday, April 5.<\/p>\n
Steve Cook, commercial manager of Wrexham FC which is now being successfully run by its supporters, said: \u201cWe estimate that having the shop in Eagles Meadow has enabled to sell merchandise worth between \u00a350,000 and \u00a360,000, which is fantastic.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe idea of opening and manning it with volunteers from the club was to get our presence out into the community and we have certainl achieved that.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur merchandise is still selling strongly following our FA Trophy win, so to be allowed to keep the shop open for a little longer than originally planned is just brilliant and we are very grateful to Eagles Meadow management for letting us do it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think having our shop in the centre has been beneficial all round. It has helped the club make some very useful revenue and I think it has also attracted some valuable extra footfall to Eagles Meadow.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe success we have had with the shop has certainly given us food for thought and I hope that in the future we will be able to look at similar ventures at Eagles Meadow, with the centre perhaps being used for things such as the launch of new club shirts.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cOn Saturday we made special arrangements with the FA to have the trophy we won on show at the shop for a couple of hours to give our loyal fans the chance to have their pictures taken with it in the background.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe trophy will also be on display in the shop on Tuesday from noon until 2pm and again on Wednesday between 11am and 1pm.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wrexham FC secretary Geraint Parry said: \u201cThere is tremendous interest in the club after the great result we had down at Wembley and having the shop open at Eagles Meadow has been adding to that.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll kinds of merchandise \u2013 virtually everything we have been able to get our hands on \u2013 has been flying off the shelves and to have an extra week or selling is just great.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that what we have been able to do at the shop has reflected well on the club, on the town and on the shopping centre.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wrexham FC beat Grimsby Town 4-1 on penalties after the match ended as a 1-1 draw at full-time.<\/p>\n
Eagles Meadow Manager Kevin Critchley was delighted the club shop had done so well.<\/p>\n
He said: “Wrexham FC have done the whole town proud – their success has given townspeople an extra spring in their step.<\/p>\n
“All we need is a final push for promotion and we’ll all be in seventh heaven.”<\/p>\n