Official World Cup merchandise and team jerseys are flying off the shelves at the FIFA store located in the FIFA Fan Festival at the PNE in Vancouver.
“All the fans are excited, and everything is flying off the shelves; it’s hard to keep stocking in,” said store manager Bailey McNeil.
Around noon on Thursday (June 18), hours before kickoff of the Canada vs. Qatar match, McNeil said the Fan Fest and BC Place were the only places that had official Canada jerseys left and she expected to sell out by the end of the day, as they had already sold out of the small and medium sizes.
She recommends that those hoping to find something in their size show up early and, if possible, on one of their stock days: Tuesday or Thursday. “Like last week, we had the Turkey jerseys, and within 10 minutes, it sold out,” she said.
McNeil added that she could not say the exact amount the store had made since it opened, but she said it was in the thousands.
All the merchandise in the store has a price tag, unlike at some other official stores when they opened, where customers had to take the item to the cashier to ask the price.
“The other stores are actually completely separate from us, so we wanted to show people the price, and it’s easier as well for the cashiers to scan in as well,” she said.
The store is open whenever the fan festival is open. Visit vancouverfwc26.ca to see the schedule and operating hours.
About the Author: Anna Burns
I cover breaking news, health care, court, Vancouver Rise FC, Vancouver Goldeneyes and social issues-related topics for the Surrey Now-Leader. anna.burns@surreynowleader.com Follow Anna on Twitter.