The WALL STREET JOURNAL’s Hanna Krueger wrote Nike was “too late to capitalize” on the USMNT’s run through the World Cup. Many versions of the U.S. men’s soccer jerseys “sold out two weeks into the tournament,” after the team dominated Paraguay and Australia in its first two games, a “sign that team sponsor Nike vastly underestimated demand for the product.” The world’s largest sportswear company “scrambled to get more on stores’ shelves, but they arrived too late” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 7/16).
SALES SURGE: Decathlon Australia CEO Danny Sekulich said that sales of balls and jerseys had “jumped” during the World Cup, with revenue from those categories increasing by 50% “compared with the same period last year.” FINANCIAL REVIEWS’ Campbell Kwan noted overall sales had “increased more than” 10% year-on-year during the soccer tournament, which began on June 11. The local arm of Decathlon, the world’s largest sporting goods retailer, has “sold all of its Portugal, France and England jerseys” and its Argentina jerseys were “expected to be sold out by Monday” (FINANCIAL REVIEW, 7/16).
BIGGEST WINNER: The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER’s Roxborough & Ford note whoever hoists the Cup on Sunday, advertisers “will be coming away champions.” Before a single ball was kicked, this tournament was “a record breaker in terms of corporate sponsorship.” FIFA’s decision to expand the tournament from 32 to 48 teams “delivered advertisers exactly what they were promised: more matches, more fans, more eyeballs and, crucially, many more opportunities to sell things.” This World Cup also “expanded the range of tournament sponsors” (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 7/16).
