This year’s World Cup in Brazil means there is plenty of strange World Cup merchandise on sale

As with the Olympics, every four years the world stops for a month and gathers to watch the FIFA World Cup. And just as with the Olympics, the World Cup is a great opportunity for the world to come together and celebrate sport, friendship, and fair play. And as with the Olympics, it’s a great opportunity to sell World Cup merchandise.

From a business standpoint, large sporting events such as the World Cup and the Olympics are tests of estimating wholesale and retail demand. Well-made, well-priced World Cup merchandise should sell out quickly, making the manufacturer, wholesaler, and retailer all a nice profit. Goods which are over-ordered or turn out to be things that people don’t want will end up fiercely discounted at clearance sales in a month or two.

We will look at the consequences of over-ordering and sports overstock when the World Cup comes to an end. But as the thrill and excitement of this year’s World Cup in Brazil roll on, I thought it would be fun to look at some of the more insane pieces of World Cup merchandise for sale. These are the kinds of things that you may want to hold off on buying till after the cup ends, because I can almost guarantee they are going to be a lot cheaper.

For the discerning gentleman who feels just at home in the boardroom as he does down at the pub with his shirt off yelling at the telly, World Cup 2014 gold cuff links are an ideal fashion statement. In all seriousness, if someone is sophisticated enough to wear a shirt which requires cuff links, he’s probably sophisticated enough to avoid wearing these. However, for a gentleman who chooses to proudly wear the cuff links, he can further enhance himself by wearing the official 2014 World Cup cologne. I can’t imagine what the ‘scent’ of the World Cup is like, but my guess is that it would be something of a cross between plantains and sweat.

There are of course plenty of pieces of World Cup merchandise for all of the 32 teams taking part in the tournament. While every country has t-shirts, sandals, and caps, some countries have some more…unusual items. For instance, USA fans can drink away their sorrows after the inevitable early tournament exit with a stainless steel hip flask, while more advanced cocktails can be sipped out of this World Cup trophy glass. Classy.

England supporters may have a bit of a hard time explaining why their ‘wearable England flag’ offered by a supermarket chain makes them look likea member of the KKK. Speaking of things you probably don’t want to ever be seen wearing, I can’t imagine anyone would willingly put this thing on their head. But, I’ve never really understood fashion anyway.

The point of all of this is not to make fun (OK, yes, making fun is actually a huge part of this) but to also examine how difficult it can be to properly stock up on World Cup merchandise and market it correctly. When the tournament ends and winner and losers are known, we will return to this topic and see who the winners and losers were in the retail sector, as well.

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