Untraceable jerseys, theft from the FFF shop, some rare official copies sold at high prices at Le Bon Coin… It was in 2018 that Didier Deschamps’ French team won the second star. .
Because this year getting the famous blue tunic is much easier and above all much less expensive. For the past few days, most of the retail sites and sports stores have been offering Nike jerseys at discounted prices. They all seem to be aligned with the same discount: -30%.
From Intersport to GoSport, via Sport 2000 or the sports equipment specialist Foot.fr, blue jerseys are on display at unprecedented prices for a World Cup period in which demand is at its peak. Indeed, it is necessary to pay less than 98 euros to be able to buy the official shirt that Mbappé’s band currently wears on the pitches of Qatar, instead of 140 euros.
The same goes for so-called “replica” jerseys inspired by the official jerseys but made from less expensive materials. The official prices of 90 euros are crossed out again to be offered at less than 63 euros. And if you want a flocked version with the number 10 and the name of Mbappé, Giroud or Griezmann, it is “only” 73.50 euros that you will have to pay instead of 105 euros. Paradoxically, the shirts worn by the Blues during Euro 2020 are more expensive than those of the current competition. Intersport, for example, offers the “replica” versions at 70 euros, or 7 euros more than the Qatari ones.
“Not the same as summer”
As the French team prepares to play for a place in the final and broadcasts of matches break audience records, selling jerseys seems incongruous. Would sales be disappointing for sports brands?
“In summer we usually buy more shirts and there is the fan zone effect in which we find ourselves with the blue shirt on our shoulders,” he continues.
A less favorable seasonality but also limited sales opportunities in time. With a summer competition, the shirts are sold from May to December with a spike in demand for Christmas (when the French team shines in the competition). This year the posters were delivered at the end of September and with the World Cup kicking off on November 20, they will have only had a month and a half to sell off most of their 2022 stock.
Hence these attractive promotions to attract customers, especially in this period of painful inflation of purchasing power.
The fiasco of 2018 to avoid
However, after a very timid start, it seems that sales have started to take off after the knockout games.
With the advent of high-stakes matches, stores are seeing a bigger herd of customers.
The brands also want to avoid the fiasco of 2018 with the “2-star” shirt announced for the summer following the victory and which had really only been available in 2019. A major deficit for the sector that had accused Nike of neglecting the French public by favoring other sports such as American basketball.
In the event of a hypothetical victory on December 18, will the blue “3-star” jerseys be able to be present under the tree?
Until then, there are still two games to win for the Blues.
Source: BFM TV
