The Argentines are thrilling the debut of the national team at the World Cup in Qatar, but the fans have other reasons for concern. Largely due to the fury and enthusiasm generated by Messi and Scaloni’s squad, The shortages of original shirts and the famous FIFA-sponsored Panini stickers are worsening. The companies (Adidas and New Rita) assure that demand has overwhelmed them and deny that the shortage has to do with the blocking of imports. “We ramp up production, but everything we deliver is sold the same day,” they argue.

Opportunists celebrate, because counterfeits proliferate (especially t-shirts) and rebranding (in the case of stickers). to tap into the desperation of fans and collectors of all ages. A fundamental fact is this Not even the Adidas and Panini online sales portals have goods available. Either the option to purchase the shirts does not appear, in the first case, or the legend appears “out of stock”, In a second.

Officially, the new national team shirt went on sale on July 28th. Later the alternative was added, where the color purple predominates. Both come in two flavors and are manufactured by RA Intertrading. The “replica” (i.e. the fan’s one) costs $17,000 but the premium ones (identical to the ones used by the players) go up to $29,000. The latter are made with imported fabrics and are almost unobtainable. Trout are worth less, even if some are not so much.

“What is being replaced sells out very quickly. There is a very high demand and the best-selling sizes (Medium and Large) are on the market for one or two days,” they explain from Adidas. The local branch of the German company, main sponsor of the AFA and the national team, plans to sell 15% more than the 2018 World Cup in Russia. “We expected sales to increase, but demand exceeded all expectations,” complained a company executive.

From the AFA they distance themselves from the subject better than Messi. “We can’t do anything, even if it’s convenient for us to sell more. This is Adidas and there are problems in the country concerning them, such as import barriers and labor shortages, and also the high effervescence of the people,” said an executive of that body, which collects royalties for every item it ships.

Scaling up production is also complicated. The RA Intertrading company has added new production lines (it went from 10 to 16), but that’s not enough. “Even if we wanted to, we couldn’t turn up the volume because making t-shirts is a very traditional job that requires qualified personnel, as seamstresses, cutters and sublimators”, they argue. In the textile industry they point out that the limitation has to do with the departure of many Bolivian and Peruvian workers, and who have returned to their countries of origin due to the economic crisis and the unfavorable rate of exchange.

All in a context of euphoric fans, who throb what could be Messi’s last World Cup. And some new habits and consumption postponed by the pandemic, such as the possibility of going to the cinema, to a play, to the field or to collect stickers, a passion that today unites children and adults. The famous Panini sticker album sold out just hours after it went on sale on August 24th. Since then there have been shortages and difficulties in completing the collection, which has 638 stickers and 62 special stickersSt.

“In these almost three months the problem has never been solved”, says Ernesto Acuña, director of UKRA, the chamber that represents the kiosqueros. Acuña says that today there are more chances to get them “if you pay higher prices than the official ones”, i.e. $150 for the 5-sticker pack, $750 for the traditional album and $3,000 for the hardcover. He points it to the Zonakids.com virtual store, which belongs to New Rita, where the “out of stock” signs stand out.

Its marketing director, Nicolás Sallustro, is surprised when asked about the shortcomings. “How strange, because they tell us that stickers are a little easier today and some customers, a few, have lowered the volume of orders“, stressed the executive a clarion. Sallustro argues that “a lot of guys are starting to complete and the company has never lowered the delivery intensity, so naturally the market starts to normalize.”

Acuña partially agrees, though he clarifies that many wholesale distributors offer the packages for $200, well above the nearly $113 suggested cost, which gives a business a profitability of $37.” Also paying for more deliveries is rationed,” the businessman complained. On e-commerce platforms, including Mercado Libre, there are offers for almost all tastes, but one of the most popular is the following: 2,750 dollars are requested for 10 bags of figurines, or 275 dollars per unit. This is almost double the official price.