FIFA final gives weekend spending a perfect assist

Kolkata | Mumbai: India's restaurants, pubs and television makers are gearing up for a bumper weekend ahead of the FIFA World Cup final Sunday, as football fever drives a last-minute spending spike in a nation otherwise obsessed with the cricketing oval.

Pubs and microbreweries said advance bookings have more than doubled over a normal weekend, prompting several states to permit venues to remain open through the night for the match.

Television makers, meanwhile, reported a 30-40% jump in demand for large-screen TVs - 55 inches and above - over the past 4-5 days. Meanwhile, restaurants are extending kitchen hours for late-night deliveries.


Brands are rolling out special World Cup offers, food combos and match-night menus to cash in on the final weekend of the tournament where, for the first time in a Fifa World Cup, the reigning champions of Europe and Latin America will clash in New York for the top honours in the sport.

"We are rolling out additional cashback and EMI offers for the weekend as the craze for large-screen TVs gathers pace," said Pankaj Rana, chief executive, Hisense India. Demand for large-screen televisions has jumped more than 40% since the semi-finals, he said, and is going strong before the finals.

Publicly traded Speciality Restaurants, which owns brands such as Mainland China and Oh! Calcutta, has secured extended liquor licences for its pubs until 3 am this weekend by paying additional excise fees, while kitchens across its restaurants will remain open until 4 am for home deliveries.

Post-midnight Business

For the first time in a Fifa World Cup, the reigning champions of Europe and Latin America will clash in New York for the top honours in the sport.

“We are rolling out additional cashback and EMI offers for the weekend as the craze for large-screen TVs gathers pace,” said Pankaj Rana, chief executive, Hisense India. Demand for large-screen televisions has jumped more than 40% since the semi-finals, he said, and is going strong before the finals. Publicly traded Speciality Restaurants, which owns brands such as Mainland China and Oh! Calcutta, has secured extended liquor licences for its pubs until 3 am this weekend by paying additional excise fees, while kitchens across its restaurants will remain open until 4 am for home deliveries.

“Football is big business and a great opportunity for incremental sales with Argentina in the finals,” said managing director Anjan Chatterjee. The chain has introduced special World Cup meal combos for the weekend.

The Beautiful Game

Industry executives, however, said the World Cup-driven demand has hitherto been concentrated largely in metros and traditional football strongholds such as Kerala, West Bengal, Goa and the Northeast.

Ironhill India, one of the country’s largest microbrewery chains with outlets across six cities including Bengaluru and Hyderabad, has launched a special brew for the final and is witnessing a surge in advance bookings.

Vidhatha Annamaneni, co-founder, Ironhill India, said the company had been unable to fully capitalise on the tournament because of late-night kick-off timings and regulatory restrictions. However, extended operating hours approved by several state governments this weekend are expected to lift sales to about 1.5 times a regular weekend.

Divya Aggarwal, chief growth officer at Impresario Entertainment & Hospitality, said its restaurant Social expects a 5–10% increase in gatherings across select outlets.

This year’s FIFA World Cup, hosted across the US, Canada and Mexico, has featured a record 104 matches since June 11. However, businesses saw little meaningful windfall until the knockout stages. “We haven’t been able to receive the full advantage of this World Cup season for our restaurants because most of our restaurants shut by start of play,” said Zorawar Kalra, founder, Massive Restaurants. “The real benefit has been to our delivery business… We expect Sunday to be very good.”