World Cup jersey sales yet to gain momentum

Sales of football and cricket kits in markets across the country have started ahead of the biggest international competitions of the two sports which are set to mesmerise an ocean of fans and supporters all over the world. 

Australia will host the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup from today. And just seven days after the end of cricket's showpiece event, the FIFA World Cup will take place in Qatar from November 20.

Businesspeople said any World Cup usually triggers excitement among people a couple of months in advance but this year it was a bit different.

The sales season for the two sports in Bangladesh normally starts in June but nowadays business has been dull for the fallouts of the pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war which hiked prices of commodities, gas and energy.

The purchasing power of people has drastically been reduced while the cost of living has increased amidst raging inflation across the world.

Cricket-crazy Bangladeshis became die-hard football supporters ahead of the World Cup, mostly backing either Argentina or Brazil.

Cashing in on the zeal, businesspeople do brisk business of related sportswear and merchandise during the season.

This gives a big boost to the annual sale of sportswear and merchandise in Bangladesh and gradually it is expanding. According to rough estimates, it has reached anywhere from Tk 1,000 crore to Tk 1,200 crore.

The Daily Star spoke to a number of businesspeople recently. Among them, Saiful Islam Bacchu, owner of Khelaghor in Pabna, said sales of kits have not begun in a big way in Pabna as they were selling at best three to four per day.

He said in their line of business, sales usually were more centring the football World Cup rather than that of cricket.

"Pabna is one of the districts with a lot of sports engagements, where huge excitement around the football World Cup is seen before, during and after a World Cup, resulting in a lot of jerseys along with sports accessories being sold," he said.

"I have two types of jerseys (based on the quality of the fabric) which are sold in the range of Tk 250-Tk 350," he added.

Rangolal Talukder, owner of GM Sports in Sylhet city, said sales of kits focusing the international competitions started in the citytwo months ago but it was at a slow pace.

"There are 40 sports accessories shops in Sylhet. Most of the shops collect…(their stocks) from Dhaka. We also bring some accessories from abroad. But we could not import this time around. So, we are running our shops with locally made products," he said.

"But the presence of customers is scanty. The T20 World Cup is knocking at the door…hopefully the pace of sales will increase," he said.

"There are five types of jerseys (based on the quality of the fabric) in our shop. The range of prices of these jerseys start from Tk 520 and end at Tk 1,200," he added.

Sujan Das, owner of Fitness Fast in Chattogram, said they import sports items, including jerseys, in bulk. But this time it was difficult due to an increase in the exchange rate of the dollar with the taka and additional banking requirements.

"As a result, we have had to purchase jerseys and other sports gears and accessories locally. We're now selling our existing goods. We will put up new products in the shop soon as sales have not yet gained momentum in Chattogram," he said.

Shamim Hossain, president of the Bangladesh Sports Goods Merchants Manufacturers and Importers Association, said once there were only a couple of businesses solely centred around Gulistan but now it had spread everywhere.

"There are now 250-300 more shops in Gulistan area and around 500 shops across Dhaka, which means the sports accessories market is expanding day by day. They are everywhere, be it in neighbourhoods, towns or cities," he said.

"People of Bangladesh enjoy cricket a hell lot. But the demand for football jerseys is more than that of cricket," he said.

"I think some 40 per cent of customers buy Argentina's jersey and 35 per cent of Brazil in Bangladesh," he said.

"This time fewer people are coming to buy jerseys. Still there is a month for the football World Cup. So, let's see what happens finally," Shamim added.

Omar Chisty Sunny, proprietor of Sports Center in Dhaka, said they sell kits both at wholesale and retail. "We are selling around 10-15 jerseys per day," he said.

"…we hope sales will increase. These are big occasions for businesspeople to rake in some bucks," he said.

Md Hanif Sheikh, proprietor of Mukta Khelaghore in the capital, said they did not import any kits due to pandemic restrictions, falling foreign currency reserves and letter of credit-related complexities.

"We basically import sports accessories, including jerseys from China. This time we can't do it due to some difficulties," he said.

Sports & Sportz Design, authorised sportswear manufacturer and seller for Bangladesh Cricket Board, produces a new designfor the Bangladesh cricket team's kitahead of the T20 World Cup.

They will market kits, tracksuits, jackets and caps of this design, said owner Mehtabuddin Anwar Ahmad Sentu.

Former cricketer Tarek Aziz Khan, who owns TK Sports in Dhaka, said business was more or less average.

"For Covid-19, I shut three of my outlets. Now I have two outlets running, one of which is at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium area," he said.

"I sell my own products in my outlets. But this time I didn't produce any new jersey for the World Cup," Khan added.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Anamul Haque Bijoy opened Solco Sports in Dhaka a week ago. He said he has a good collection of foreign and locally-made products but was yet to get a good response from customers.