Chelsea megastore is situated on Fulham Road, right outside the West Stand of Stamford Bridge stadium. It’s a two-storey building that covers 900 square metres and is a stone’s throw from Fulham Broadway underground station.
The megastore was originally built in 2001 after former owner Ken Bates invested £100m to redevelop Stamford Bridge. The goal was to generate more money as Chelsea were in significant debt. It didn’t immediately pay off, so the megastore was redesigned under Roman Abramovich.
Chelsea were founded in 1905 and Stamford Bridge has been their home since day one. The Blues will celebrate 120 years as a club in 2025, but their megastore is only 23 years old. The establishment is their official store for Chelsea merchandise and combines stock with the online store.
There’s no other avenue for guaranteed authentic merchandise than Chelsea megastore, and now the club now sell anything from baseball caps, to drink bottles, to duvet sets, to dog leads. Chelsea sell their training kit in addition to their typical matchday outfits too, so everything is purchasable.
Chelsea turnover £400m-£500m a year as a club. The majority of their revenue comes from broadcasting, but £200+ comes from commercial, while their merchandise figure is £90m+. The Blues have certainly come a long way from their humble beginnings.
Bates famously bought Chelsea for £1 in 1982, inheriting a club that were struggling on the field and financially. Chelsea were spiralling in debt and languishing in Division Two, so they weren’t an attractive proposition.
Chelsea narrowly avoided relegation to the third tier in their first season under Bates’ ownership, and they didn’t own Stamford Bridge at the time, so there was no success on the pitch, or a lot of money being generated off it.
Bates had big plans for Chelsea upon his 1982 acquisition, but he needed investors to commit capital. The late, wealthy businessman Matthew Harding would answer his call in 1993, being appointed as a director and investing a fortune into the club.
Bates knew Chelsea needed to own their stadium to maximise revenue, so he fought with Marler Estates over the Stamford Bridge freehold. Marler eventually went bankrupt, so Chelsea capitalised and reclaimed ownership. Harding put forwards millions of pounds to buy the freehold and for construction of the North Stand which is now named after him.
The move placed more financial liability on Chelsea, as they now needed to maintain upkeep, but it allowed them to bring in more money too. In 1995, Chelsea rebuilt their stadium to be an all-seater venue. Harding feuded badly with Bates over the direction of Chelsea in his three years at the club, however, and died in 1996.
Bates said of Harding after his death: “Matthew was the catalyst of the rebuilding of Stamford Bridge. It was his enthusiasm and loan that allowed us to build the North Stand. Without that, it wouldn’t have been possible.”
Chelsea returned to the top-flight in the last 80s and managed to consolidate in the 90s, so they became a Premiership club enjoying a significant rise in broadcast revenue. Chelsea should have been a more profitable outfit, but reports in 2001 suggested they were liable for £120m of debt.
The lack of Champions League football and silverware meant they missed out on European broadcasting revenue as well as prize money. Bates was undeterred and invested £100m into the redevelopment of Stamford Bridge and construction of their megastore.
Bates was always bullish when asked about Chelsea’s money woes, insisting he made the right decision to invest more and borrow funds for development. But with Chelsea not playing much European football, they struggled paying back what they owed due to their slim profit margins.
Chelsea showed off new hotels, restaurants and bars at the Bridge. The move created hundreds of new jobs and added more revenue streams for Chelsea, but it just exacerbated their debt rather than solve it. Failure on the pitch and compensation having to be paid to sacked staff members raised Chelsea’s liability.
Chelsea lost £11.2m in the previous tax year while suffering a £13m drop in turnover. The Blues also had to pay millions in interest and compensation to Gianluca Villa, Ray Wilkins and Graham Rix who all left the club. Their debt level nearly hit £100m.
Chelsea remained in financial difficulty until Roman Abramovich bought the club for £140m in 2003. The Blues were in a much better position than when Bates bought them, but they still needed significant investment.
Bates putting £100m into the infrastructure of Chelsea wasn’t a successful endeavour, as Abramovich needed £60m to buy the club and £80m to cover the debt.
After investment in the transfer market, Chelsea would become a side regularly playing in the Champions League and winning silverware. They were generating more money and maximised their broadcast revenue due to reaching finals in multiple competitions.
After years of success, Abramovich felt the time was right to invest in the megastore. Chelsea would launch their 900msq state-of-the-art megastore in 2015, replacing the existing site.
The store, which was completed in 8 weeks during the summer, now has two floors, more pay points and a way of exiting right into the stadium. There is also print shop for fans to personalise their own shirts.
A lot of work went into the visuals too. The Chelsea megastore has a display cabinet with all of Chelsea’s trophies and memorabilia. There is a new blue and gold fascia and Chelsea lion on the front of the store, plus supergraphics of players being featured on their large-scale glass windows.
There is now a glass tower and transparent floor where the staircase used to be, situated in the middle of the store and running through both floors.
The tower displays replica trophies and is a popular area of the store for supporters. Football shirts surround the glass tower on the top floor, and it’s designed in a way to make fans feel like they’re in the stadium.
The megastore is visually impressive and has an incredible international reach, running stores in a dozen languages and delivering to 180 countries.
The megastore revamp came to be as Chelsea wanted to improve customer circulation while being able to speed a large number of fans through on matchdays. They have also given fans a way to watch highlights on their big screen, and they celebrate Chelsea’s success with the full display cabinet.
The megastore was a Schwitzke Group project, and the managing director, Wolfgang Sigg, said of the design: “Our target was to make it clear how big Chelsea FC actually is, showing the history of the team, and make the store seem bigger and more powerful.”
The megastore was stripped out significantly to make it seem larger inside too, with the suspended ceilings removed and escalator taken out. There was a focus on honouring legends too, so emphasis has been placed on the hero wall.
Schwitzke Group put a lot of effort into colours too, opting for a dark interior for the walls to accentuate the centre stage and blue products. They also wanted the lion emblem to really stand out.
Schwitzke Group completed the megastore revamp after the season had been completed, finishing the renovation as the new campaign commenced. Sigg added: “From start to finish it was a four-month process. The preparation phase was one month.
“The real challenge was to implement what we and the client expected in eight weeks, as we only had the break between the two football seasons.”
Chelsea’s megastore is a real improvement on the old building, celebrating the club’s history and honouring their traditional colours. It’s an impressive look.
