Agreement Reached Over Hoodie Scheme
Banned from Bluewater and pilloried by politicians, the notorious ‘hoodie’ will receive a new lease of life next week when tops emblazoned with college crests go on sale to students directly through college JCRs. An agreement has finally been reached on the initiative, first reported by The Oxford Student last term, after weeks of wrangling between JCR Presidents and the board of Oxford Student Services Limited, the commercial arm of the Student Union, which publishes this newspaper.
JCRs had accused OSSL of muscling in on their scheme and trying to take an unfair cut of the profits. But the differences have now been resolved. Under the new arrangement Oxford Limited, the commercial arm of the University, will purchase ethically-made items from suppliers at a relatively low price. OSSL will co-ordinate the marketing and distribution of the garments, taking a £1 administration charge per item. The rest of the profits will go directly to JCRs.
The retail cost of each piece of clothing has yet to be decided. The Student Union’s business manager Daniel Finley told The Oxford Student: “We are delighted that a deal has been reached. It is a clear example of how OSSL and the JCRs can work together for the benefit of students.” But he acknowledged that reaching an agreement had not been easy: “Negotiations were protracted, perhaps unnecessarily so, but we have finally reached the outcome we desired at the outset."
Outgoing Christ Church JCR President Jo Lee Morrison, who represented the JCR Presidents Committee during negotiations, said: ”We're now confident that the appropriate margins have been set and that everyone is clear on who gets what."
2nd Jun 2005