Cricket jersey sales to see slump in city

Chennai

Retailers selling the Indian cricket team’s jerseys have had a busy few days. They say that sales usually go up  when India makes it to a final. However, they were expecting more business during the World Cup T20 scheduled to start from March 8 and were disappointed when they learnt that there would be no matches in Chennai.

On a typical match day, the Chepauk stadium is buzzing with activity. From flags to face painters and from jerseys to whistles, everything is available. Shanmuhgam is a salesman of jerseys which he hauls around in a massive plastic bag. He is an employee of one of the jersey manufacturers in the city.

“Fans prefer these copies of the team’s jersey as they are cheaper. We quote Rs 500 as the selling price, but we sell it for Rs 300 after negotiation. We make between Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000 on these shirts during the match. But now, we are missing out on the opportunity this year,” he says. Mariappan, who runs a sports jersey shop on Walajah Road, says, “We received an order of 200 shirts  on Thursday. This was for the Asia Cup jersey. We tweak the design slightly for each order. Instead of the Asia Cup logo, we have placed another logo. We also write the name of the individual on the back of the shirt,” he says, adding that most fans ask for Indian skipper MS Dhoni’s name to be printed.

The official jersey that was launched recently has already got fans enquiring about the availability, which is yet to reach the market. “We are expecting the T20 shirts to reach us in  the next few days. We have received many inquiries. There are two models available – the copy jersey and the supporter jersey. The former is available for Rs 3,800 and latter costs Rs 1,900,” according to a salesman at a sportswear store.

Meanwhile, few fans say that even if they don’t get to watch the match live, they’d wear the blue shirt and watch the matches in a pub. “If India reaches the final, I don’t mind travelling to Kolkata, where the final is scheduled. Else, I will just watch the matches with my friends at home in Chennai sporting the jersey,” says Shafeeq Ahmed, a working professional.