World Cup apparel scores high

Soccer might be a low scoring game, but the opposite is true when it comes to sales of World Cup 2006 commemorative apparel.
According to sports giant and World Cup sponsor Nike, sales of supporter apparel have soared thanks to the Australian team's return to the tournament after watching from the sidelines since its last appearance in 1974.
The World Cup kick-off on June 9 saw fans flooding Nike's own stores - as well as on-sellers Rebel Sport, Amart and Sportsco - in search of replica Socceroo jerseys, confirmed Nike communications manager Kate Meyers.
"The supporters' jersey is an exact replica of the players' and utilises Nike's proprietary Dri-Fit performance fabric technology. It is the easiest thing for the supporters to buy into."
During the weeks between decisive games against Japan and Brazil sales went "through the roof", she added.
"The Australian jersey is the strongest seller although Nike sponsors eight of the World Cup teams, so those jerseys have also been selling well. We've seen strong sales of the Brazil and Croatian jerseys to consumers from those communities who are currently living in Australia."
Nike also released a variety of supporter T-shirts and transit jackets, with long-sleeved styles proving the most popular buy for the Aussie winter, Meyers said.
"There is a women's cut shirt which has been selling well, although obviously in lesser numbers. There is also a kid's version, but the men's replica jersey is the hero item."
Nike made a practice of analysing sales data linked to specific sporting events separately from its overall sales figures, utilising the data to benchmark future sales and plan event tie-ins, she confirmed.
According to the Australian Sporting Goods Association (ASGA) while it was too early to gather hard data on World Cup 2006 apparel sales, recent sporting events including The Ashes cricket tournament, the Commonwealth Games and The Australian Open tennis tournament had seen sales sky-rocket.