Cup feeds into German economy (Reuters) Updated: 2006-06-30 09:08
Whether selling them beer or World Cup souvenirs, German businesses have been
working overtime to ensure soccer fans get what they want during the tournament,
and the economy seems to like it.
Industry groups say they are on track to meet their sales goals for the
month-long tournament and German economic indicators already seem to be
reflecting the buoyant mood.
"Everything to do with soccer is selling like hot cakes at the moment. People
are buying everything from hats to condoms with World Cup labels on them," said
Rolf Pangels, managing director of Germany's BAG retailers' association.
"Statistically speaking, three fan articles have been sold per capita of
Germany's 82 million population," he added.
Pangels said the hope was that spending on niche sectors would spread to
other areas of the economy as the tournament headed into its final week with
fewer matches played.
"We hope people will use the time off in between games now to spend more
money on other things," he said.
Until now, many fans have probably been too busy drinking to shop. Beer maker
Radeberger said earlier this week it had resorted to 24-hour bottle filling to
keep up with demand.
"What we're hearing from the breweries is really, really good," said Birte
Kleppien, a spokeswoman for the German beer brewers' association. "It seems to
be really massive."
She said the group hoped the World Cup could help spur a rise in German beer
sales -- currently worth around 8.4 billion euros annually -- for the first time
in several years.
BAG's Pangels said the near constant sunshine since the tournament began had
been an important factor in boosting sales of outdoor clothing and goods -- but
had probably hit demand for televisions.
"People are fighting to get outside, have fun and watch games on a big screen
with others -- not sit at home," he said.
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