World Cup celebrations rock France

A Chinese kitchen appliance maker said Monday it has so far made refunds worth nine million dollars, fulfilling a costly pledge to reimburse customers if France won the World Cup.

Vatti, one of the French team's sponsors, is coughing up after Didier Deschamps' side beat Croatia 4-2 in the final in Moscow a fortnight ago.

According to Vatti's latest figures, the Chinese firm has made refunds -- either in cash or gift cards -- of more than 62 million yuan.

And the cost to Vatti of the success of "Les Bleus" does not stop there, with a portion of refunds still outstanding.

The total payout over the marketing stunt will amount to nearly $12 million.

Vatti, founded in 1992, promised before the World Cup to refund customers who bought their "Championship Package" of selected products if France lifted the trophy.

Vatti stock dived as France made their way through the tournament, but the firm is publicly sanguine.

"The amount to repay could be very significant, but it was included in our annual budget. It will not have huge consequences on the company," Wang Zhaozhao, a Vatti representative, previously told the China Securities Journal.

Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic is prepared to make changes for Sunday's World Cup final against France if some of his players have not recovered from their exertions in reaching football's biggest game.

Dalic's men have been forced to go through three periods of extra-time against Denmark, Russia and England to become the smallest country in 68 years to make the final.

"Tomorrow is the World Cup final. Simply, the players know what that is," Dalic said on Saturday.

"One thing that brings me happiness is that all my players tell me if they are not 100 percent fit. They will concede and say they are not fit. They know what is at stake, but if they are unable to give their all they will tell us. They have such an attitude."

Ivan Perisic, who scored and set up Mario Mandzukic's winner in a 2-1 semi-final win over England, was among five Croatian players to miss training on Friday.

"We have nothing to train. We need relaxation and rest to gain freshness for tomorrow. We have some minor injuries, minor problems, and I hope my players will be ready. If not, I have great players on the bench who will be raring to go."

Russia was the target of almost 25 million cyber-attacks during the World Cup, President Vladimir Putin said, though he did not indicate who may have been behind the attacks.

"During the period of the World Cup, almost 25 million cyber-attacks and other criminal acts on the information structures in Russia, linked in one way or another to the World Cup, were neutralised," Putin said during a meeting on Sunday with security services. The comments were reported by the Kremlin on Monday.

Global footballers' union FIFPro said that at least 15 World Cup players have taken part in UEFA club competitions less than four weeks after returning from Russia, leaving without a sufficient close season break.

The union reiterated its call for a mandatory rest period of at least four weeks between the final game of one season and the start of pre-season training for the next.

"Players are coming under too much pressure, caught between the needs of their clubs and their own personal well-being," said the union in a statement.

"While FIFPro understands the financial implications of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League for clubs, the health of these players is being put at risk because of such a congested match schedule."

The group stage of the World Cup in Russia, which was officially part of last season, finished on June 28 while the final was played on July 15.

The first round of qualifying for this season's Champions League began on July 10, meaning that the two seasons in effect overlapped by a few days.

Iceland's Arnor Traustason played -- and scored -- for Swedish champions Malmo in a 3-0 win away to Kosovar side Drita in a Champions League qualifier on July 10.

Serbia World Cup squad members Nemanja Radonjic and Milan Rodic played for Red Star Belgrade in a Champions League qualifier on July 11 and compatriot Vladimir Stojkovic played for Partizan in the Europa League the following day.

While clubs from smaller leagues are already involved in European qualifiers, big clubs are on lucrative tours abroad.

On Sunday, Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho said his team's World Cup participants should consider cutting their holidays short to help the depleted team in the opening stages of the Premier League season.

Several players from United's first-choice starting line-up, including Frenchman Paul Pogba, Belgian Romelu Lukaku and Englishman Jesse Lingard could miss the opening league fixture against Leicester City in less than two weeks' time.

England defender Phil Jones and forward Marcus Rashford are expected to return early to help prepare for the start of the season.

Mourinho, frustrated after seeing his side lose 4-1 to Liverpool in the U.S. on Saturday, has suggested that others should do the same.

France winning the World Cup trophy in Russia, Chinese kitchen and bathroom appliance maker Vatti Corp is now in the spotlight -- it is time for the company to deliver on a bold promise. 

Vatti, as a sponsor for the French national soccer team, said a month ago that if France won the title at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, it would refund customers who made purchases of designated products between June 1 and July 3, based on invoice value.

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On Monday, the Guangdong-based company said it had started the promised refund process, after the marketing campaign helped it net total sales of about 1 billion yuan ($150 million) during the promotional period, a year-on-year increase of over 20 per cent.

The sales of designated products, such as dishwashers and water heaters, which were listed in the refund initiative, hit around 79 million yuan, with online sales accounting for 29 million yuan and offline sales standing at 50 million yuan.

Vatti said the company will afford the refund of sales through its own online store, and its distributors and retail partners will be responsible for refunding offline sales and third-party online sales.

Also, total costs of the refund only include manufacturing and promotional cost, which is less than the combined sales price of 79 million yuan, thus exerting little impact on the company's bottom line, the company added.

"We chose to launch such a campaign to support the French team because the temperament of the French team is very compatible with our passionate, smart and fashionable brand image," Vatti said in an interview with China Daily.

The shares of Vatti surged as much as 9 per cent by midday on Monday before the rise narrowed to about 4 perc ent at closing, when share prices stood at 15.18 yuan.

Ma Bing, a 33-year-old bank employee in Beijing, bought a dishwasher in June after seeing Vatti's advertising post on an elevator.

"Well, my wife has been asking for a dishwasher for a long time. I am also a big fan of the French team. The dishwasher saved me from my wife's nagging when I stayed up at night for football matches. It was a good deal," Ma said, adding he has registered the refund information at a Vatti online store.

Vatti is one of a number of Chinese companies that are cashing in on the World Cup. Their combined spending on advertisements for this year's tournament hit $835 million, $400 million more than the next biggest spender, the United States, and easily exceeding that of host country Russia, according to market-research company Zenith.

Liu Buchen, an independent expert in the home appliances industry, said it is good for Chinese companies to experiment with creative marketing campaigns, but more effort is needed to ensure that enterprises do deliver their promises and consumers' rights are protected.

Copyright: China Daily/ Asia News Network