Mexico and Colombia were both eliminated in the Round of 16 of the World Cup earlier last week. Inside the Adidas World of Soccer store at American Dream, it appears nobody told the customers.
Mexico and Colombia remain the store’s two biggest sellers as the event heads into the semifinal round. Bigger than even defending champion Argentina and Messi, who are still playing.
So big that, unlike the other eliminated nations that Adidas sells, gear from Mexico and Colombia was not reduced by 50% after they were knocked out of the tourney.
So said Cesar Estevez, 18, a sales associate at the 9,000-square-foot store, which opened Feb. 1 as Adidas’ first U.S.-only soccer-focused flagship.
“Even though Mexico and Colombia are out, they’re still getting a lot of purchases,” he said. “They are the hottest items.”
Fellow sales associate Macayla Flores, 19, agreed.
“All of our meetings start with, ‘Mexico, Mexico, Mexico,’” she said. “They are still hot.”
The same can be said of the store, which had bustling traffic on Saturday, just before the start of the final two quarterfinal matches.
Adam Petrick, the Chief Marketing Officer at American Dream, said the Adidas World of Soccer store has been one of many contributors that has made the facility the place to be during the event.
“We’re exceptionally pleased with the traffic Adidas has generated at their location at American Dream,” he said. “Our center is a destination for unique experiences across shopping, events, attractions and dining. The Adidas store has exceeded our expectations by providing a unique, engaging and exciting shopping environment for its visitors.”
The items are not cheap — but they are of top quality.
The Jerseys (priced as high as $180) are not some polyester pullover you find on a discount rack; they come with Adidas’ ClimaCool technology and a breathable fabric.
Customers aren’t balking. And Adidas is doing more than just selling swag.
Adidas has been a welcome partner at many of American Dream’s World Cup events, contributing soccer balls and jerseys — including a signed Messi jersey to one event.
Messi, of course, is unique. Estevez and Flores said his popularity is the key to almost all of Argentina’s sales.
With Mexico and Colombia, it’s different.
“People just want their jerseys,” Estevez said. “They don’t ask for a particular name.”
It’s another reason why Mexico and Colombia are the only countries other than Argentina to have bigger displays and a greater amount of merchandise, featuring warmup shirts, hats, soccer balls, even shoes.
Even Spain (which has advanced to the final) and Germany did not get such displays.
To be clear, only countries that wear Adidas gear are featured in the store. In addition to the big three, Spain and Germany, that includes Japan, Belgium, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Scotland, South Korea and Sweden.
Notably missing from the list is the United States, which wore Nike this tournament.
The U.S., however, did wear adidas back in 1994, the only other time the World Cup was here. The store was selling throwback U.S. rugby shirts, featuring the 1994 logo.
On Saturday, those shirts were 50% off.
