England Failure brings £2billion economy hit
22nd November, 2007
England’s failure to reach the Euro 2008 finals will have a massive impact on the economy, industry professionals have warned.
Sports business will be hit the hardest, with England's kit manufacturer Umbro, and the retailer Sports Direct both issuing statements saying they expect their profits will be hit hard next year.
The defeat will also have a wider impact on pubs, travel companies and bookmakers, who will all see substantially less business as a result. Simon Chadwick, a professor of sport business strategy and marketing at Coventry Business School explained: "A successful run to the 2008 final would have led to a £2bn bonanza for the economy. Evidence from previous tournaments also shows that, at another level, worker productivity normally increases as the England national team progresses through major tournaments and the 'feel good factor' takes hold.”
Since the announcements, shares in Sport Direct quickly fell by 17%, sports retailer JJB Sport’s fell by 8.2%, and Umbro’s fell by 3.7% after expecting a "substantial reduction" in sales of England shirts. Analysts said this fall could have been worse were it not for the proposted take over by Nike, details of which are set to be released on Friday.
The bookies will be extremely disappointed with the situation, as the betting nation are always very patriotic in getting behind the team. They have even been taking action, providing incentives to players in an attempt to improve the chances of qualification. For example, Fred Done, owner of Betfred, offered the scorer of the winning goal over Russia on Saturday a new £50,000 Mercedes.
