Why we decided to go B2B as well as DTC
At some point in the early stages, someone asked a simple question: who's going to buy this?
Padel players. Obviously. But there are only so many padel players in Britain right now, and most of them already have kit — even if it's not great kit. Breaking into that market cold, as a brand nobody had heard of, felt like a long road.
Then the club idea happened.
British padel clubs have a problem. They want to give their members something to wear — something that builds identity, community, belonging. But the options are terrible. Generic sportswear with a club name iron-transferred onto it. Minimum orders of 200 units that most clubs can't afford or hold. Kit that members get once and never wear again because it looks and feels cheap.
What if we could solve that?
The model we landed on was simple. We design the kit. The club puts their identity on the front. AP Club sits quietly at the back neck. Members buy through the club shop. The club earns a margin on every order. We handle the design, production and delivery. Nobody holds stock.
We called five clubs. Three said yes.
That was the moment AP Club stopped being a DTC clothing brand and started being something more interesting.