Brasil: Soccer Fever

Fever Pitch Today, soccer fans around the globe will be glued to their seats to watch the start of this year’s World Cup tournament in Russia. It’s an especially important event for Brazilians. Brazil may have suffered a 7-1 defeat by Germany in 2014’s tournament, but Brazilian electronic manufacturers and retailers stand to make huge profits from this year’s contest, Reuters reported. “We’re seeing sales get stronger week after week as we get closer to the Cup,” Fabio Gabaldo, commercial director of one Brazilian appliance chain, told the news agency. Production by manufacturers such as LG Corp and Panasonic Corp have risen 25 percent by some measures, while many stores and retailers are coming up with ingenious ideas to sell TV sets – like offering discounts for those trading in their old sets, playing on consumers’ superstitions. “Are you really going to watch Brazil on the same TV as the 7-1 match?” an ad from a local chain asked. Brazil isn’t the only country consumed with soccer fever. In neighboring Peru, first-quarter TV sales jumped 25 percent compared to last year – though legislators landed in hot water recently for planning to purchase 60 televisions and several mini-fridges, which they denied had anything to do with the World Cup. But there’s reason to bend the rules in Peru, considering that it’s the country’s first appearance in the tournament in 36 years.

SHARE