Kids demand pricey souvenirs

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(news24.com)
Updated: 2006-06-01 14:59

London - Parents in England are feeling the heat as their children catch World Cup fever and demand pricey souvenirs, from stickers of David Beckham to copies of Wayne Rooney's football kit, consumer groups say.

The organisations warn that companies are charging adult prices for kiddies' gear, putting pressure on mothers and fathers who want to keep their children happy but cannot afford the cost.

Enthusiasts trade World Cup soccer stickers outside a shop in Valletta.[Reuters]

They also urge firms not to exploit 'pester power' - the persuasive skills of a child, desperate to own the latest England shirt, who badgers his or her parents until they agree or lose their temper.

But companies, such as Umbro, which produces the kit, and Panini, which makes the official World Cup sticker album, argue that their products are fun and good value for money.

The smallest size of the England 'away' gear costs nearly as much as the biggest version in some shops, forcing parents to pay "proportionately more" to kit out their kids, the group said.

The largest adult shirt bought on the Football Association's website costs 22.49 pounds, just 5 pounds more than a child's size even though it uses much more material.

Sportswear giant Umbro, which manufactures the official England strip, said it did not recommend how to price the clothes. This was done by the retailers.

It noted, however, that the same technology was used to make every size.

Bill Hibberd, of the consumer group Parentkind, warned that such purchases ate into the family budget, which was where a child's pestering came into play.

"A child is unlike any form of advertising," he told AFP.

"You can choose not to look at a magazine anymore, you can turn off your television, but a child goes on and on. It does not have any limits. It just wants the product," Hibberd said.

"Parents are either going to yield and pay for things they can't really afford or they are going to really lose their cool."

Another strain on the family purse strings is Panini's sticker album.

With 17 football stars from each of the 32 World Cup teams to find, plus a team photograph, a badge and pictures of the stadiums, children are scrambling after 598 stickers, which come in packets of five for 35 pence.

But because of the law of probabilities, the closer a child comes to filling his or her album the more difficult it is to find the last players.

The National Consumer Council complained about the cost for parents.

"The World Cup is always seized on by companies as a big marketing opportunity," a spokesman for the council said.

"But pitching the cost of filling the World Cup stickers album beyond the pockets of the kids it's aimed at could be a step too far."

Mark Warsop, marketing director of Panini UK, told The Times newspaper the album was supposed to be a pocket-money purchase over a long period of time.

It was also better to encourage children to spend their money on stickers than chocolate, he added.