Status: 12/02/2022 3:43 p.m
Supplier Adidas reacts to the German team’s World Cup departure with reduced prices on jerseys. Even before the soccer World Cup, retail and the hospitality industry were not very euphoric about the major event.
Adidas reacted after the German national soccer team lost the World Cup preliminary round and massively reduced the prices for the jerseys worn in Qatar. The jerseys of the German national team were sold today in the Adidas online shop with a 50 percent discount: the simpler fan jersey for 45 euros instead of 90 euros, the jersey that the players also wear for 70 euros instead of 140 euros.
“We are absolutely satisfied with the World Cup business,” said an Adidas spokesman in Doha. “As much as we are affected by the elimination in Germany, we are benefiting from the international enthusiasm in Qatar.” Adidas is one of the seven global partners of the world football association FIFA.
400 million euros World Cup sales expected
Even after the departure of the German national team, the clothing company is sticking to its sales expectations for the World Cup in Qatar. The goal of the former CEO Kasper Rorsted to convert 400 million euros with World Cup products, such as the official “Al Rihla” World Cup ball to fan jerseys, will remain unchanged, said an Adidas spokesman.
Sales are currently above those of the 2018 World Cup in Russia. In the first nine months, Adidas had increased football sales by 30 percent despite benefiting from the European Championship in the summer of 2021.
Christmas celebrations instead of increased retail sales
The German retail trade, on the other hand, is sober. “The early departure of the German national team brings an already difficult World Cup business to an end early on,” said the spokesman for the German Retail Association (HDE), Stefan Hertel, the Reuters news agency. The Qatar location and the date in winter would not have sparked any enthusiasm from the outset. “Without the German team, experience has shown that interest in fan merchandise and other World Cup items will drop rapidly,” said Hertel.
“Of course, leaving is bitter – for the players as well as for our companies, who have invested in transmission options for the community cheering,” said the general manager of the German Hotel and Restaurant Association (DEHOGA), Ingrid Hartges. They are now cheering themselves up with the growing demand for Christmas parties, even if the pre-Corona crisis level has not yet been reached.
However, economic experts do not expect any significant decline in the mood to buy. “We see a major reason in the fact that the euphoria this year was not nearly as pronounced as at previous events,” said GfK market researcher Rolf Bürkl.
Euphoria on Japan’s stock exchange
In Japan, on the other hand, the excitement of unexpectedly reaching the round of 16 is having a direct impact on the stock market. The operator of the streaming platform Abema, CyberAgent, was the biggest winner on the Tokyo stock exchange with a price increase of four percent. The game against Germany (2-1) was watched by more than ten million viewers there, and even higher numbers were expected for the game against Spain.
According to a spokesman, the sporting goods manufacturer Mizuno, whose shoes bear the Japanese “Samurai Blue”, sold more than twice as many football shoes in its two stores in the past ten days, and even 140 percent more online. Above all, the special edition for the national team is in demand.