One month ago today, on Sunday 15 July, the streets of Paris, Lyon, Marseille and countless other French cities were filled with joy – Les Bleus had beaten Croatia to win the 2018 World Cup.
But for retailers and foodservice providers, the competition was worthy of celebration for a whole different reason – the period broke all sales records for the previous 18 months, according to a new Nielsen report.
Les Bleus To The Rescue Of French Consumer Confidence
As France’s economy minister, Bruno Le Maire, explained a few days before the final, “Economic growth is based on trust and a victory in the World Cup would certainly bolster self-confidence amongst the French. [...] There’s an irrational side to the economy that relates to trust, enthusiasm and the desire to win. That’s what the World Cup brings us”.
Enthusiasm certainly seemed high among French supporters during the tournament – according to data covering the five week period (week ending 17 June to week ending 15 July), French consumer bought 59 million more beers; a 14% increase.
Several other categories also outperformed, such as confectionery (+24%), frozen pizzas (+16%), snacks (+8%) and Champagne (+8%).
Overall, across the French retail industry, the World Cup brought in an additional €211 million, a 2.1% rise in sales over the equivalent five-week period in 2017.
Warm Weather More Important Than Mbappé Prowess
But apparently, good weather can do even more than a World Cup win.
According to Nielsen, a key driver of the 2.1% rise in sales was the very warm June the country experienced. During the 2010 World Cup, a similar rise in sales was reported due to good weather, even as France was eliminated in the qualification stage of the competition.
Brand loyalty also enjoyed a boost during the competition, with 26% of respondents that consider themselves supporters more likely to buy products that sponsored or were associated with Les Bleus rather than a competing product.
However, this in turn put pressure on retailers and suppliers to ensure that products were available as and when consumers wished to purchase them.
In a recent column in French newspaper Les Echos, Frédéric Rykman, Product Manager at Vekia, a supply chain intelligence firm, commented, “During the Euro 2016, I remember searching for a jersey. After being unlucky in three of my favourite stores, I tried my luck in a store that I normally would not go to and found what I was searching for ! Needless to say it’s there that now I’m doing most of my shopping.”
Record-Setting Days For Beer, Crisps and Champagne
The positive impact of the competition can clearly be seen on French retail, since six out of 10 record days for the beer category in the last 18 months were set during the World Cup 2018, according to Nielsen.
For example, on 30 June, the day of France's match with Argentina, French stores registered an 18-month high for beer sales, with over €22.5 million worth of sales recorded. The second-highest day in terms of beer sales happened also during the event, on 7 July, when France met Uruguay in the quarter final.
The day of the final, Sunday 15 July, was the biggest Sunday for beer and crisp sales over the past 18 months (excluding Christmas). Sales were 21% higher than the average of the four Sundays preceding the tournament.
This favourable trend was also present in the Champagne category, too, with very strong sales on the day on the Final of €1.3 million, which is two and a half times of what it would usually be on a Sunday.
These record figures for drinks and food also seem to be corroborated by foodservice players in the French market. Domino’s Pizza France, for instance, announced that it saw a significant uptick in its activity, which equated to a doubling of orders compared to July 2017.
In France, during the World Cup, the company said that about 2.3 millions pizzas were made and sold.
Commenting on the numbers, Nicolas Dégeraud, head of marketing for Domino's Pizza France also sought to highlight that this rise was due to the quality of the ingredients used, "It's the quality of our products that sets us apart and make us different, and during the World Cup 2018 it's something our clients visibly favoured."
Roll on Qatar 2022!
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Matthieu Chassain. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
