Many manufacturers invested heavily into World Cup marketing this year in an effort to turn this international frenzy into profits. With the tournament ending in a victory for Italy on Sunday, companies are looking back on the results to measure their success, while some are already looking ahead to 2010.
Before the World Cup began, Lotto reported that their orders were up in the double-digits in the European market due to the tournament. Last week, adidas announced that they had already exceeded expectations in sales of both hardgoods and softgoods. Nike also cited World Cup revenues as the driver behind a 5% growth in footwear sales in its fiscal fourth quarter through May, as well as a 16% increase in apparel, and a 21% jump in equipment revenues in the EMEA region.
Last week, both Puma and Umbro reported positive results thanks to the World Cup. Puma said that at least one of their sponsored teams was on the field for 56% of the tournament, or 36 out of the 64 games. The brand claims that this made the Puma brand “the most prominent brand in terms of visibility,” a claim that the company will surely build on with its sponsorship of the eventual championship team. Puma said its performance football product is showing strong sell through as well, with sales reportedly increasing by approximately 40% compared to 2005.
“Not only have we reached, but by far surpassed our goals for our brand at the World Cup. We have significantly strengthened our strong position as one of the worlds leading football brands and made unparalleled impact with our innovative performance products”, said Puma CEO Jochen Zeitz.
According to point of sale data reported by SportScanINFO, sales of soccer shoes over the last four weeks increased 81% compared to last year, with adidas and Nike splitting the top ten best seller list with five styles each. Retail sales of soccer shorts are up nearly 40%, while sales of team soccer uniforms were up more than 80%.
Umbro also saw a successful World Cup. The company announced that wholesale sales are up “materially ahead” of 2005 and the previous tournament year in 2004. Umbro management said that they are in line with expectations. In the UK, Umbros sales were driven by licensed products, while non-licensed products were slightly slower than last year. International sales and royalty income has continued to grow with Europe, Asia, and Latin America all ahead of last year. In the U.S., as previously indicated, sales are less than 2005 driven by lower sales to Footlocker, although the company said that this will have little impact on profits.
Peter McGuigan, Umbro CEO said, “We are pleased with Umbro’s performance to date. The World Cup has given the brand unparalleled exposure and we look forward to capitalizing on that with the introduction of new product ranges and initiatives in the coming months, we remain confident about the future.”
