FIFA Soccer Balls Record Sales In India

India may not have played in the FIFA World Cup, but it sure made a lot a moolah from it. From sales of team jerseys and soccer balls, and record sales at restaurants and pubs - it was a month-long festival for retailers across the Capital.

Restaurants across the city said that in terms of beer sales alone, they raked in 25 per cent more profit than usual - with earnings of about Rs 75,000 a day. "Footfall on the day of the finale was 50 per cent more than on a usual day.

If there hadn't been a restriction of closing at 1 am, it would've been 100 per cent more," says Sidharth Talwar of Cafe Morrison. A manager at The International Diner, GK I, says footfalls drastically increased when teams reached the quarterfinals.

In fact, FIFA was a bigger draw than cricket. "We generated 30 per cent more business than we did during IPL," says Manik Kapoor of WOW, Connaught Place. "We saw a 20 to 25 per cent increase in revenue in the past month," says Amit Kaushik of Sancho's, CP, while Deepali Narula of F Bar reports an increase of 30 per cent in their bookings.

"Compared to sales during the 2006 World Cup, sales of football merchandise increased by four times this time around. Jersey sales jumped up by a whopping 600 per cent," says Andreas Gellner of Adidas India.

"While jerseys of Argentina, Brazil and Germany were a big hit initially, those of Spain sold like hot cakes afterwards," says Vijay Madanu of Amigo Sports, reporting a 50 per cent increase in sales as compared to off-season.

With the Commonwealth Games around the corner, everyone hopes to relive the good times.