Fan merchandise is as much a part of championships as a ball is of a game. Retailers are looking forward to high sales, critics complain about the large amount of plastic. Consumers should beware of tempting offers.
Rosa Marotta has just received new car flags. She takes the fresh goods from a large box and puts them on a shelf filled with fan items that are sure to make the hearts of football fans beat faster: hats and wigs in black, red and gold, bikinis and plastic bracelets, rose petals for table decorations, beer mats and clattering hands in the national colors.
“We even have bunny ears in black, red and gold,” says Marotta with a grin. She is the branch manager of the Wicky gift shop in downtown Mainz. “People buy things like that.” But the best seller – as always at major football events – is flags. Especially the German one. But the Italian, Croatian and Turkish flags are also in great demand.
Double turnover at the 2014 World Cup
Wicky’s headquarters are in Drensteinfurt near Münster. Owner Siegfried Kurzhals operates nine branches throughout Germany. In the history of his company, he has already experienced several World and European Championships and knows how much such events boost business: “The 2014 World Cup was fantastic,” Kurzhals remembers. “Demand for fan merchandise grew as the tournament progressed.”
His company doubled its sales during the football summer of 2014. That’s why Kurzhals has changed its product range again this spring and is once again focusing entirely on football enthusiasm.
Business depends on success in the tournament
The German Retail Association (HDE) estimates the additional sales in the retail sector at 3.8 billion euros. “In retail, major sporting events always provide a sales boost,” says HDE General Manager Stefan Genth.
A survey commissioned by the association showed that food and fan merchandise were particularly in demand. More than 31 percent of those surveyed wanted to buy scarves, flags or decorative items. A third of those surveyed planned to spend up to 200 euros more on shopping for the European Football Championship.
But “the development of retail sales also depends on how the tournament goes,” says Genth. “If the German national team achieves another summer fairytale and gets far, that could noticeably improve consumer sentiment.”
The Wicky shop in Mainz sells a lot of fan articles – flags are particularly in demand.
Consumer Center warns against fake shops
Sales of fan merchandise for the European Championship are booming not only in local shops, but also online. The consumer advice center warns that caution is advised here: behind conspicuously cheap offers, for example for jerseys, there are often fake shops. The original jersey of the German national team costs 100 euros in the DFB fan shop, and with the player’s name and number printed on the back it costs 122 euros.
“Official jerseys of the German national team at less than half price, everything available immediately and free worldwide shipping: offers that sound too good to be true,” the consumer center wrote in a statement. Customers must expect that these goods will never arrive – and the money will be gone.
Fake jerseys – be careful when buying
Internet shops also offer counterfeit jerseys, often with the addition “Thai quality”. This indicates “cheap products”, according to the consumer advice center.
Although German law does not provide for any penalties for the purchase of counterfeit products, if these are delivered from abroad, the counterfeit goods could be confiscated by customs. This could result in further costs, such as import sales tax. Last but not least, these products are usually of “poor quality and, in the worst case, could be contaminated with pollutants.”
How major events encourage consumption
Erik Maier holds the chair for marketing and retail at the Leipzig Graduate School of Management and his research also focuses on the question of why people make purchasing decisions. A European Championship in one’s own country entices customers to buy fan articles or official merchandise products for various reasons.
“The increased attention to the event has a big effect,” explains the scientist. This is also linked to more attention for certain consumer needs. This also applies to products that are only indirectly connected to the topic of football: “If you watch the European Championship with friends, you may feel the need to consume more beer, more chips or more barbecue food.”
In addition, before and during a European Championship there are significantly more goods that are linked to the topic of football, for example through so-called “co-branding”. Anyone walking through the supermarket will discover drinks or sweets that have the FIFA or DFB logo on them. “And last but not least, there is a lot more advertising during a European Championship than usual, which also has an effect on consumption,” says Maier.
How much ends up in the trash?
Environmental organizations are critical of the football fever business. Rolf Buschmann, waste expert at the German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation, points out that – unlike expensive jerseys – most cheap fan items have a very short lifespan: “Event-related products like flags or necklaces are usually thrown away quickly,” says Buschmann. He doubts “that they always end up in a trash can or even in the recycling system.”
The German Environmental Aid (DUH) draws attention to the production conditions of jerseys, T-shirts and footballs and warns that these items are usually not produced outside of the EU, especially in Asia. Environmental and social standards are often not adhered to there.
“If, for example, fan jerseys are produced using particularly harmful coal-fired power in Asia and also from fossil-based new plastic, then this will have a negative impact on the climate balance and is incompatible with the aim of making the European Championship the most sustainable of all time,” says DUH Federal Director Barbara Metz.
Rosa Marotta in Wicky’s gift shop in downtown Mainz is looking forward to the next four weeks and to many football-mad customers. She has already stocked up on flags and fan merchandise. Two flags will be flying at her home during the European Championships: the German and the Italian.