Monday, 16 June 2014 - 17:21
Stores stand by huge World Cup per-goal discounts
What looked like a great marketing stunt, turned out as a bad estimation for store owner Gerard Londeman. The shopkeeper took an ad in the paper saying that for every goal Oranje scored during their first game of the 2014 World Cup against Spain last Thursday, Londeman would give a ten euro discount to all his customers on brand new shoes. "The score was 5-1 and so I sold shoes all day long with a discount of 50 euro," he said.
The idea came from Londeman and his employees as many other shops were giving out crazy deals. "I thought it was funny when the score became 1-1, but then Oranje scored another 4 goals At that point I got a bit nervous, but to be honest I was not surprised of the final score and it definitely did not bother me, I just knew I would have a busy day ahead of me," he told AD.nl.
"The Netherlands played really well and I believe that my customers deserved it as well," he said. Londeman and his team had a very busy Friday morning, with customers lined up by 9 a.m. After selling out almost the entire stock, he took his sales team out for lunch and beer to wind down the day.
"People came from all over the country, which really surprised me. Besides a few big and small sizes, my stock is finished," he told the newspaper. "The sale of shoes is only a secondary importance to me and I definitely will not get bankrupt from this but the promotion definitely cost me money."
Londeman was not the only store owner who promised his customers a discount if The Netherlands would do well against Spain. A farmers market sold Spanish oranges at 50 percent off. An insurance company promised new customers a premium of -5% for each goal The Netherlands would score during the 2014 World Cup which meant that after the first game their premiums were already reduced by 25 percent. Photo studio EedE Fotografie in Roosendaal, promised a 20 percent discount off the price of a photo shoot each time Oranje scored.
In the meantime shop owners have become a bit more careful in making such promises during the group stage of the World Cup. "We brainstormed about a sale on jeans, but I just do not dare to make any such promises anymore," joked Londeman.