Rocket science it ain't, I have dealt with local, national & international suppliers for the last ten years with orders from those suppliers that vary from a few pounds up to Hundreds of Thousands of pounds.
One of the main things I pride myself on is that all suppliers are all treated the same, it can take a little while to build a procurement portfolio up but I would have thought the easiest way for the Club to look for new and possibly established items at the right price that other clubs are selling with no commitment is the internet.
Certain lines of T-shirt, sweatshirt, hoody lines could be produced through giftprint with the addded benefit of helping a local business and maybe using them as part of a town presence that would be mutually beneficial to both parties if is was ageeable for both
Simplest easiest no cost way to grab some media attention "New Merchandise Manager appeals for Local Supliers" and see what happens