Not a trace of football fever: fan articles are a rare sight in retail
Created: 2022-11-15, 7:55 p.m
By: Jannis Gogolin
With fan articles in black, red and gold, the DFB team will hardly be cheering at home from Sunday – unlike at previous World Cups.
© dpa
A week before the start of the World Cup, there is hardly any demand for fan articles in retail.
Some stores don't have any in stock at all.
Others hope for Christmas.
Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen – jerseys, balls, flags and embroidered scarves: fan articles are as much a part of a World Cup as the ball is in the opposing goal.
Actually.
Before the start of the World Cup in the Emirate of Qatar on Sunday, the rush for World Cup merchandise is limited – if there is anything at all.
Not a trace of football fever: fan articles are a rare sight in retail stores
"In the past three weeks we have received a single inquiry as to whether we sell World Cup items," reports Peter Pascher, salesman at Lenggrieser Sport Sepp.
He attributes the “vanishingly low demand” to the time of the World Cup.
"Playing the games in winter is not ideal."
Hats and scarves are doing well
With a view to the temperatures, the two Edeka stores in March in Ascholding and Bad Tölz mainly sell two products in black, red and gold: "Hats and scarves are very popular," says Urim Matrek, store manager in Ascholding.
No World Cup items in the Heininger Edeka stores
Klaus Heininger, managing director of the Edeka stores in Wolfratshausen and Geretsried, does not use any WM products at all.
"We don't expect much from it, especially this year." Since the range in this area was always very small - a few pennants, hats and flags - it wasn't a difficult decision to leave that out this year.
Read the latest news from the Wolfratshausen/Geretsried region here.
Jerseys "not a hit" in recent years - Christmas business more important
The World Cup also plays no role in the Isar department store in Geretsried.
"To be honest, we didn't have that on our radar at all," says Madeleine Mattes.
"We already had jerseys in our range a few years ago.
But they weren't very popular back then." Especially since all forces are currently tied up with the biggest event in retail: the Christmas trade.
"Everything is running at full speed right now."
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“Full throttle in winter business”: specialist sports store concentrates on the domestic season
The Reiser sports shop in Wolfratshausen also prefers to concentrate on the season: “We are currently full throttle in the winter business.
Skis, helmets, snowboards, that's where our focus is at the moment," says managing director Jörg Pietschmann to our newspaper.
The sale of World Cup merchandise is – quite apart from the criticism of the venue and the final game on the fourth Sunday of Advent – rather unattractive from an economic point of view anyway.
Pietschmann speaks of "expensive license agreements with high purchase commitments".
You have to order the range about a year in advance.
So far he has done that.
"The World Cup was in June.
There was a public viewing, the atmosphere was great.
That excited the whole population,” says Pietschmann.
So this time there is “not a single World Cup jersey, no pants and no ball” at Sport Reiser.
Soccer World Cup: Merchandise still in low demand - hope for Christmas sales
The Geretsrieder Intersport Utzinger stocks all of these articles, but the big rush is still a long time coming.
"But the games haven't even started yet," says Managing Director Rudi Utzinger.
He counts on regular customers who collect jerseys or balls.
Despite everything, Utzinger sees the situation positively, also because the winter offers an advantage.
"The fan articles make great Christmas presents." His only concern: "That Germany will be knocked out in the preliminary round."
By the way: everything from the region is also available in our regular Wolfratshausen-Geretsried newsletter.