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World Cup: Keen on a Japan, Korea or Morocco jersey? Good luck trying to buy one

If you are searching for a Japan, South Korea or Morocco jersey to mark their improbable progress to the knockout stages of the World Cup, you are likely to be out of luck at Weston Corporation.

Underdogs have been front and centre at the Finals in Qatar, with Morocco making a splash with a quarter-final berth after beating 2010 champions Spain and Belgium, the world’s second-ranked side.

Three of the most impressive defeats in Qatar, however, were recorded by Japan and South Korea. Japan registered shock 2-1 victories over past World Cup champions Germany and Spain while South Korea reached the round of 16 with a famous 2-1 win over Portugal.

Rajbir Singh Chopra, sales director of Weston, a football merchandise and equipment retailer with seven outlets around Singapore, said stocks of South Korea, Japan and Morocco jerseys are “almost sold out”.

While the 38-year-old declined to divulge specific details and statistics, he told The Sunday Times: “For the Asian teams, especially South Korea and Japan, we usually buy more stocks (compared with other teams) and still, we have almost sold out.

“As for the African teams, we do not usually buy deep into those teams because of a lack of demand but, this time, the Moroccan jerseys are very popular. In the last week, after they beat Spain to qualify for the quarter-finals, we have had many customers looking for those kits.”

There has been a similar uptick in demand at Crown Sports, located at Peninsula Shopping Centre.

Retail assistant Don Leow said: “There has always been strong support for the Asian teams like Japan and Korea in Singapore. It is especially so for this World Cup, where you can feel the sheer resilience and fighting spirit of these teams.

“Singaporeans, too, feel a sense of pride because these countries represent Asia. Fans are still passionate and continue to buy the Japan and Korea jerseys today.”

Sheldon Chia, a 36-year-old bank employee, is one customer who has bought into the hype around Asian teams.

He said: “The World Cup happens only once every four years. I will support whichever country I feel like. This time, I bought an Argentina and Japan jersey each. For Argentina, it’s Messi’s last tournament and I wanted to have one. For Japan, they made many big upsets and, since they are an Asian team, I bought it for my son, Rafael, who is only three years old.”

Ruiyuan Chen, country manager of Adidas Singapore, said that due to the strong performance of Asian teams this year, the company has seen strong demand for Japan kits week-on-week, during and after their matches.

He added: “To say this World Cup has been exciting, as it has been inspiring, is an understatement. We have observed a strong trend among local consumers keen to show their support for our regional neighbours by donning their national jersey as the tournament has progressed.”

Chen said the Argentina, Germany and Japan kits have been the most popular buys.

Rajbir said France, England and Argentina have been the top three purchases at his stores, while Portugal and Argentina kits with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi name sets have been especially popular this year as it is expected to be both icons’ final World Cup appearances.

But while the surprise packages have made for bountiful sales in certain kits, some shock early exits have meant surplus stocks.

Rajbir said Germany and Spain are two of the nations enjoying more support here and customers would usually buy the kits when the teams progress to the latter stages. But Germany did not make it out of the group phase, while Spain were knocked out in the round of 16.

There has been strong demand for the jerseys of South Korea and Japan at Weston Corp’s store in Queensway Shopping Centre, following the Asian teams’ fine runs in Qatar. ST PHOTO: FELINE LIM

 

Both countries’ kits are still retailing at the usual price of about $89. But checks on Adidas’ Taiwan and China pages show that the prices of Spain and Germany kits have been slashed by half. 

Rajbir said: “We have stocks of Germany and Spain that will, unfortunately, have a bit of a slow death. I definitely did not expect to see Germany bow out of the group stage again.”

Overall sales have been “far better” this year for Weston compared with the 2018 edition.

Rajbir put the increase down to the slightly friendlier timing of matches, with 40 of the 64 matches kicking off at midnight or earlier.

There were seven scheduled for 6pm, eight for 9pm, 16 for 11pm and nine kicked off at midnight. From now till the final on Dec 18, the matches will kick off at 11pm and 3am.

The easing of pandemic restrictions, which has meant that Singaporeans have gone out to watch the matches at community screenings, bars and restaurants, has also helped.

Rajbir said: “We have enjoyed a very good World Cup across our stores and it is mainly down to game timings this time around and with so many fans heading out to bars, screening and restaurants to catch the matches. At the last World Cup and even the 2020 European Championships, I think more people were staying home to catch the matches.”

Adidas’ Chen also reported “a deepening support for teams... has resulted in more jersey purchases” following the surprises in Qatar.

He felt that the timing of the tournament itself could have played a part in the increase in sales.

He explained: “This year’s tournament is unique in that it takes place at year-end, unlike previous mid-year World Cups. Being closer to the festive season, shopping sentiment is also typically higher among consumers.”

But, more importantly, he felt Qatar 2022 signalled a return to some normality after nearly three years of the pandemic. He said: ”Strong sales this World Cup are also a heartening reflection of the desire many have to return to post-pandemic sporting activities.”

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