ADIDAS have got it wrong when it comes to the pricing of the new All Black jersey. They are way out of touch with the average rugby fan, in my view, at least $100 out of touch.
Merchandising is a massive part of a professional sporting organisation's make-up - it is
worth millions of dollars.
And somewhere in the deal between adidas and the New Zealand Rugby Union will be the right to change the jersey, not for matters of national importance, but to allow the two parties to exploit the money-making opportunities that a new strip brings.
If the All Blacks win the World Cup, expect the trophy-winning jersey to be immortalised, and another strip to be introduced.
In the United Kingdom, merchandising is worth million of pounds.
Each year, football teams change their strip, and obsessive fans oblige by buying the new kit.
And they don't just have one style - there are three strips each season.
In New Zealand, we're not quite there yet. But we are currently experiencing the realities that commercialisation and professional sport brings.
$200 for an adidas jersey is simply too much to expect grass-roots fans to pay, particularly in a recession.
Many New Zealanders will struggle to recall when they splashed out $200 on an item of clothing, let alone a rugby jersey. And let's not forget that, it's a rugby jersey.
Adidas' reaction, and obstinate approach, simply reinforces the growing exclusivity attached to the All Black brand, and to the players.
Adidas should heed the growing backlash.
The country will accept exclusivity when it is based on sporting prowess, but when a corporate giant starts throwing its weight around, it just annoys people.
Adidas' three stripes are meant to represent quality.
But in many Kiwis' eyes right now, they are dangerously close to "three stripes and you're out".
