Fanatics have addressed the concerns of Irish Everton supporters after a petition was launched over shirt sales in the country.
The club's retail partner have released a Q&A on the club's official website alongside kit manufacturer hummel to address a number of issues and new ventures over the course of the coming years.
One of those centres around distribution in the Republic of Ireland, with supporters recently launching a petition over their concerns over club merchandise not being stocked in stores across the country.
However Danny Downs, UK General Manager at Fanatics, has addressed the issue and confirmed that a deal will be in place ahead of next season.
He said: "In Ireland, we’ve heard the desire of fans and have been in discussions with a leading national sports store about how we can get much more Everton product into their stores.
"Due to a number of complex political issues on both side of the Irish Sea, that might not happen straight away, but it is definitely going to be in place for next season.
" We are, however, working really hard to get as much product in their hands in the short term as well, because we know that is really important for our Irish Evertonians.
"Of course, that goes for fans in Northern Ireland as well and we are currently working on something that we hope they will be really pleased with. We will have more news on that in the coming months and we will share it with everyone as soon as we can."
The Q&A session also addressed the club's efforts to expand into North and South America following an increased presence in the continents over the summer.
Everton took part in the Florida Cup in pre-season and held a number of events in the United States alongside their appearances in the country.
And Fanatics have explained what will come next for American fans to take advantage of.
Downs added: "With the club’s efforts in North and South America, we have definitely seen the spark light across the Atlantic. Fanatics is a global company but our origins are in the US, so we have a natural position of strength in North America.
"We are about to roll out – we’re probably a month or two away now - some technology whereby our guys here in the UK can push all of our Everton digital catalogue into all of our US platforms.
"That includes our own platforms like Fanatics, FansEdge and Kitbag USA, but we also have strategic partnerships with the likes of Walmart, Kohl’s, JCPenney and Lids, so we can push the entire Everton range on to all their platforms.
"That gives Everton huge amounts of exposure, and Evertonians in North America greater access to every single product fans can get hold of here in the UK.
"At first that’s going to be fulfilled in the UK, so fans will still have to wait slightly longer, and shipping is going to be slightly more expensive, but these things take time and there is a lot of red tape to get through.
"We are going to test and learn and, as products become more popular, we will physically move those products into the local market. That will mean, as we move forward, nobody should be disadvantaged based on where they live."
The company also have announced the creation of Fanatics China which could see the club expand into that market.
"In China, we have created Fanatics China. For Everton, what that means is we will be providing a ‘China to China’ proposition," Downs continued.
"That’s important because a lot of European brands try to put a European product and a European mindset into China, and history shows that just doesn’t work.
"They want the products to say Everton on them and they still want the correct blues, the correct pantones and so on, but they want it to be done in a Chinese style.
"By creating this company in China, we’re going to take everything that’s essential to the Everton ethos and history but it’s going to get a Chinese twist on it, and we think that is going to be huge for fans in China.
"We have also got offices and distribution centres in Tokyo, Japan, we have a strategic retail alliance with Coupang, an online retailer in South Korea, and we also have a distribution affiliate based in Melbourne to take care of the Asia Pacific region.
"So, we think from the back end of this year and going into 2022 we are going to see some real results for our Asian fans.
"It will also allow the club to really engage with those fans and understand who they are, why they love Everton, and how they can create a relationship with them that’s beyond e-commerce and retail."
