Qatar 2022: lack of dollars threatens business in Argentina

Last Thursday, in a meeting with the main electronics manufacturers based in Tierra del Fuego, the Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, announced that there will be “a substantial reduction in its imported inputs for the last quarter of 2022“. Just right for the high season of televisions.

The novelty has changed much of the plans envisaged by the companies for the World Cup: the industry expected to distribute 3.1 million televisions this year, but now they are recalculating. Some are content to match or have just exceeded 2.7 million units sold in 2021.

TV is one of the great protagonists of the World Cup. There are others, such as tickets, shirts, food and drinks and even stickers, which face a similar scenario 77 days after the start of the championship. Companies, brands and sponsors are more concerned about the shortage of goods than the level of demand.

The situation changes according to the category. Sportswear offers another perspective. Adidas is the official sponsor of Argentina. on the sign They plan to sell 15% more t-shirts this year than in Russia 2018the previous World Cup. And they expect to triple the shipments of balls, compared to other years. The German brand is one of the main sponsors of FIFA and this World Cup.

However, Nike has managed to outdo its eternal rival and it is the brand that will dress the largest number of selections: 14 in total, according to the Registered Marketing portal. Brazil, France (the current champion), the Netherlands, the United States and Portugal, among others, will wear the pipe logo. Adidas signed 7 (including Argentina, Spain and Germany), will provide the official ball and dress the referees. Puma got 5 selections and the rest is shared between Le Coq Sportif, Marathon, Merooj, Hummel, Kappa and New Balance.

It is already a tradition that the clothing is provided by the football institutions of the countries. Like the FAA. The players, for their part, organize their own sponsorships for the shoes. Messi wears Adidas. Neymar will combine Brazilian Nike garments with Puma footwear. Adidas produces and distributes in the country. But “many producers have already said it they will not be able to import t-shirts from selected others”, The owner of a chain of sporting goods stores warned Clarín some time ago.

Barriers to imports and a shortage of dollars have a direct impact on electronics and on the star category of the World Cup: TV. The strengthening of the import stock started some time ago: “It’s been nearly 30 days since everything froze”, You agree in the sector. The situation changed the scenario and the projections that had been considered at the beginning of the year.

Until July, the supply of televisions came with relative normality. According to a report from the MRT consulting firm (Market, research and technology), entered the market in the first 7 months of the year just over 1.7 million unitsa very similar figure to the same period of the previous year.

Philips (from the Chinese TP Vision group) leads the ranking with 322,460 devices, representing almost 19% of the market. Behind it is Noblex (238.596 and 13.8% of the capital), Samsung (220.593), TCL (135.131) and BGH (118.232). The top ten is completed by RCA, Hitachi, Philco, LG and Hisense. The big question is how the brands will adapt to the new import restrictions that Massa anticipated Thursday in Afarte, the chamber that groups Fuegian companies.

As has been said, the restriction on imports will affect producers differently. It happens that each company has negotiated which category to favor (air, television or mobile phones) according to its commercial agreements. However, in the industry they believe that in no case will the obstacles be harmless.

“Producers are worried and logically we expect a drop in consumption”Acknowledged Pablo Cetrolo, owner of the Cetrogar chain. The businessman lists other factors besides the shortage of foreign exchange. “Inflation, rate hikes, even those of Now 12 and beyond, if we have fewer units, prices go up,” he complained.

The main stakeholders of the World Cup are the sponsoring companies, both of FIFA and of the AFA. Among these, the investments made by beverage producers (Coca-Cola) and the two most important beer groups in the world stand out: Ab Inbev (Quilmes and Budweisser) and the Chilean group CCU (Schneider). This is a very favored segment of an atypical World Cup: for climatic reasons, Qatar coincides with the start of the summer season in the country, the one with the highest consumption of the year.

“It is played for the first time in the summer and for Coca-Cola it is not the same as it is done in winter ”, the company pointed out. This is why “we are preparing many actions to encourage consumption”, added the source. The fact is that the tradition of starting a World Cup in June has broken down. From Ab Inbev they project “growth between 4% and 5% in volume”.

The consumption of alcoholic beverages in Qatar poses a huge challenge for beer sponsorships. “The sale of alcohol is regulated by the local governmentl, which grants sales licenses to bars and hotels that pay a fee for that reason. In those licensed places the consumption of alcohol is allowed, ”the company explained.

In addition, “as a sponsor of the World Cup, Budweiser will be present at all matches with non-alcoholic beer on the pitch and with alcohol in authorized spaces near the stadium”.

Special dishes and film promo

The Paramount + streaming platform plans to release, shortly before or during the upcoming Qatar World Cup 2022, “Manager”, his first film shot in Argentina. Directed by Ariel Winograd and starring Leonardo Sbaraglia, Carla Peterson, Cecilia Dopazo and Pipo Luque, among others, the story it’s based on a true story. Strictly speaking, a film promotion.

“The Manager” tells the experiences of Álvaro, marketing manager of the Manganaro household appliance company, promoter of “Promotional Qualifiers” which consists in playing it for the national team: “If Argentina does not qualify, we will refund the cost of your television”, they promised.

The story dates back to the promo launched by Noblex at the end of 2017, when Argentina’s qualification for the World Cup in Russia, 4 dates from the end, was still compromised. The publicity made a splash, even though it “generated a lot more noise than the sales,” admitted today by Newsan, the owner of the license. But due to its strong impact, the campaign was the focus of a book (“Noblex’s manager”), even in an IAE case study and now it also arrives on the big screen.

In view of the World Cup, sponsorships and advertising campaigns are the main protagonists. Gradually the first actions are emerging. Several banks and cards have already launched the first draws (a classic) to travel to Qatar and see all the games, with all expenses paid. Santander, Galicia, Banco Ciudad, Macro and BBVA and Brubank are some of them. YPF and Coca-Cola did the same.

These are the first actions aimed at capitalizing on the maximum popular sporting event. A revealing fact of interest among companies: so far the AFA accumulates a total of 23 sponsorswith two new areas: online bookmakers (BetWarrior and W88) and platforms related to cryptocurrencies (Binance).

Argentina is also causing a stir in China. This is the football team with the largest number of sponsors in that country: so far 6 companies can already use the official team logo and the images of the players who will participate in the World Cup in Qatar to promote and increase their sales in a country with more of 1,300 million inhabitants.

So far, the Alfa has managed to raise 5 million dollars from companies practically unknown in Argentina but very appreciated in the Asian giant. The list includes Wanda Investment Group, Yili Group (one of the 5 largest dairy companies in the world), Pan Pan Foods (snacks and drinks), GAC Mitsubishi (automobile manufacturer), W88 (betting company) and China NetEase Media (a novelty app that works like a social network).

McDonald’s, the world’s leading fast food chain, is a major sponsor of FIFA and also of the AFA. The company prepares a series of actions before and during the World Cup, with the double objective: capture new consumers and also install the brand. The company plans to launch burgers and three special menus related to the World Cup theme shortly before the tournament starts.

From the companies they make it clear that there is still no “world climate”. And that is why they anticipate that major actions are scheduled for next month.