Retailers waiting to make most of upcoming Cricket World Cup

With the Indian Premier League (IPL) unfolding in its full glory this year and India inching towards normalcy after being thrown off track following the Covid pandemic, cricket’s impact on the direct business of several companies has become more evident.

According to a report in The Economic Times, companies including Reliance Industries, United Spirits, Indian Hotels Co Ltd and Jubilant Foodworks have reported either a spike in their business during the IPL season or expressed expectations of a big spike during the forthcoming Cricket World Cup to be hosted by India.

This IPL season is said to have impacted India’s largest retail group Reliance Retail greatly, which recorded remarkable television sales in the April-June quarter. The Chief Financial Officer of Reliance Retail, Dinesh Taluja, told ET that the group had leveraged the IPL last quarter to boost television sales.

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Jubilant Foodworks, a group that operates the Domino’s Pizza chain in India, posted its highest-ever in-stadium sales growth of pizzas during the IPL matches.

“Cricket is one occasion where friends and family sit together and order a pizza,” Sameer Khetarpal, Chief Executive and Managing Director of Jubilant Foodworks, told the publication.

Hina Nagarajan, CEO of United Spirits Limited (USL), was also quoted as saying that the company saw a spike in sales during the IPL season. USL is an Indian alcoholic beverage company. She also added that the company expects another spike in sales during the upcoming World Cup tournament in October.

Television makers are also waiting to reap profits during the time of the World Cup. LG India expects twice the growth in sales of large screens and at least 25 per cent sales growth during the time of the tournament. Gireesan Gopi, business head at LG, told the publication that it is an added advantage that the World Cup coincides with Diwali this year and that the business should ideally flourish in October, with customers preponing their purchase of TVs.