Scots desire for Iceland replica strip pushes demand up 2000%
After Iceland's shock 2-1 victory over England on Monday, demand has soared, above all in Scotland. Kit manufacturers Errea have put on extra shifts to meet demand.
Scottish football fans have a new set of heroes, the Iceland football team, after they beat Scotland's oldest sporting rivals England 2-1 in the Round of 16 at Euro 2016. One consequence of Iceland's march to the Euro 2016 quarter-finals has been unprecedented demand for their eye-catching blue replica shirt, with much of that demand coming from Scotland.
Scotland fans of course have been looking for something to get excited about at Euro 2016 after their team failed to qualify for the tournament, finishing fourth in qualifying Group D behind Germany, Poland and Republic of Ireland.
2000% increase in demand
Fabrizio Taddei, export manager at Iceland kit manufacturer Errea, told the Times: "We are having huge demand and since Iceland beat England it has gone crazy. There are thousands and thousands of orders from Scotland. But there is demand from all over Europe."
The demand for the shirts has been almost 2,000 percent higher than expected, Iceland team press officer Omar Smarason said on Friday.
And that could go higher as Iceland prepare to face hosts France in Paris on Sunday for a place in the semi-finals. Internet orders for shirts have swamped sport company Ehf, Iceland's official jersey distributor, and Errea, the Italian manufacturers.
"We have faith everyone will get their shirt"
"Based on the number of emails and Facebook messages we've been getting, yes, we are sold out," Smarason said. "It is good on one hand, but bad for everyone who has not got the shirt they wanted yet. "We have every faith in Errea and we're sure everyone will get their shirt eventually."
Iceland's tale is similar to the plight sportswear firm Puma suffered when unfancied Premier League winners Leicester City won this season's title. Puma, who make Leicester's shirts, ran out of replica kits in January, four months before the end of the English league season.