I don't claim any expertise. But I'm sure you do. Please use this opportunity to tell me all about it.
Wasn't it you who said that due to an agreement with your wife you don't travel to football matches in December?
I've been doing business in China for a long time, I've made multiple trips there every year for the past thirty years, roughly 100 visits in total. When my Chinese friends ask me what the name change is all about, I tell them it's being done to make us more appealing to them. They think I'm taking the piss.
The Cardiff chairman claimed changing the colour of the shirt to red would increase marketing opportunities in the far east as red was a more popular colour. The Hull City chairman claims that altering the name we have had for 109 years to something which sounds like an American ice hockey team. The Cardiff chairman has just told his manager that there won't be any money available for players in January as revenues have not increased. Yet some numbnuts on here are willing to throw away our history on the off chance that it will increase revenues without one shred of evidence to support that proposition.
And your Indian friends? Do they say the same? Without prying too much what sort of level of business do you do in China (sales rather than purchases) and is it sports related? Other than what they have learnt from you, have they ever heard of Hull City, and could they give a monkeys about it?
China's middle class now (i.e. those with real spending power) is estimated at a size of 300 million. If the HDM article is not a fair reflection of true anti-name change, then I hope you are not claiming the survey of your Chinese friends accurately depicts the viewpoint of the Chinese nation?
I don't do any business in India, so I've no idea what they think there. The Premier League is massive in China and this story has made the news there, so I have received many emails asking me what is going on(I have several Chinese mates who watch all our games and email me about them every weekend). In the main, they are bemused with what our owner is attempting to do.
I don't understand why a minor name change is throwing away our history? Going bust and restarting might be, but a name change? Moving grounds, changing shirts etc are just routine, so why all the fuss? As our history is hardly a story of glorious success, why not try it if it can help ensure our fairy godfather keeps funding the club?
I see your point, but with a population of 1.2 billion, they are hardly irrelevant. Even a small inroad could help ensure our survival.
Fair comment, but their view is undoubtedly coloured by yours, as you seem to be their source of information. And being friends they are unlikely to say you are wrong. Nevertheless it does suggest that more research into the market is needed (unless Assem has already done some but not told us - unlikely).
I don't claim to speak for the Chinese nation, but I know them well enough to know that they're nowhere near gullible enough to start supporting a football team just because it's got Tigers in it's name. Only success will gain us support internationally.
I don't know whether your main visits have been to Hong Kong rather than main land China, in Hong Kong BPL has been big for a long time. However I have mainly been in the last 25 years to mainland China, and one good friend in Dalian, who is an avid fan of the EPL told me the name change would have no effect, the success of the team, and results like the Liverpool are what will make the club more appealing in China. P.S. If Dr Allam would like to me to do a feasibility study for him, I would be more than happy to oblige.
The thing that frustrates me - is that we know what will bring us attention internationally - because it happened for us last year. Go onto the Hull City facebook page and post something about Gedo, then sit back and watch the replies come in. We're not going to get any fans more loyal than the Egyptians currently are. That is the type of fan base we want abroad. We are currently massive in Egypt because Gedo is. Who is the most popular Chinese player who hasn't cracked Europe? The Indian? Signing those two players and giving them the occasional run out would bring far more attention to the club that any name change. Would Bruce stand for it - I really don't know, but one look at what happened to City's twitter feeds last year when Gedo, Fathi and Elmo played for us shows you how to make an impact abroad. Other than that, we could win the European Cup. That might work too. But then - perhaps we all know this isn't about Marketing.
It that is the case then my apologies. Someone wrote that the wouldn't be at a game until January because they had an agreement with their wife not to travel to any football matches in December. I thought it was you, though admittedly I had sunk a few at the time. Seems it was another hen-pecked individual under the thumb in a house where the wife wears the trousers.
I don't think anyone (even Assem) expects the Chinese to suddenly rush en bloc to buy Hull Tigers shirts, but I think, and I would guess this is also Assems view, that it may make them more attractive. After all, Guinness sell more merchandise with the Toucan on than the merchandise without. If you saw a shirt you like I'm sure you would be more inclined to buy it if it had the Lambretta logo on it. I would. So perhaps a Chinese kid looking at a football shirt is more likely to buy a Hull Tigers shirt than a Stoke or Norwich shirt. Maybe not as many as Man U sell (but who knows when we beat them next week) but even a small proportion of 300 million would be good. Worth trying? I think so, you don't. Fair enough, but please keep the debate civil and I'll do the same.
