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Shortage of Real shirts disappoints Beckham's fans

David Beckham arrives for an interview in Tokyo yesterday ahead of a friendly match between Real Madrid and FC Tokyo last night PHOTO: REUTERS

Sports shops across Asia have sold out of official replica Real Madrid jerseys because of the mania surrounding the recent signing of David Beckham -- and disappointed fans have been told no more team shirts will be available until October.

Tens of thousands of the Spanish teams white shirts -- which cost more than US$50 each -- have been grabbed off the shelves in the Asia-Pacific region since they first went on sale in the middle of last month.

Manufacturer Adidas says it cannot keep up with demand and that no more supplies can be shipped to the region until October because of a global rush on the shirts since Beckham signed for the team.

The problem has become particularly acute in Asia where the team is currently playing a series of exhibition matches in China, Japan, Hong Kong and Thailand with Beckham being mobbed everywhere the team appears.

Cindy Ng Lai-yan, public relations manager for Adidas Asia Pacific, said: "Demand has been huge after David Beckham signed for the club and Real Madrid decided to come to Asia. It was an unforeseen demand."

"We can only tell them we are waiting for more supplies ... But I don't know when they will arrive."

Bill Suen Kai-yu, supervisor at official kit vendor SFALO

She admitted that the shirt shortage effectively played into the hands of counterfeiters who are selling fake Real Madrid shirts at a fraction of the price of the real jerseys but she appealed to soccer fans not to buy them.

We do not condone counterfeiting because it is illegal and consumers should not encourage it, she said.

"The counterfeits are made of low quality material and may only last a few days before it tears apart or the color fades. Depending on the fabric, you may also get skin irritation from the shirt and, in addition, you absolutely can tell it is a fake."

Explaining why it would take so long to produce more shirts, Ng said: "For a sporting goods company to bring a product to the market from the initial idea takes 12 to 18 months."

"For counterfeiters, it takes three months because they are small and more flexible and they react to the market very quickly," she said.

Adidas expects to sell 500,000 Real Madrid shirts worldwide this coming soccer season once its supply problem has been overcome.

In Hong Kong, meanwhile, bootleggers are doing brisk business selling fake Real Madrid shirts ahead of Friday's match in the territory, when 40,000 fans will watch the Spanish team take on a Hong Kong-China XI.

In the Mongkok district and in neighboring Macau, Chinese-made team jerseys complete with shorts are being sold with Beckham's name and number on them for as little as US$7 a set, or US$5.50 for a child's uniform.

Ng warned: "We are looking at the counterfeiting situation in Hong Kong and Macau very closely. Every time there is a big event like the World Cup and the Real Madrid Asia tour our investigators will be around and we work closely with police and customs on that."

Bill Suen Kai-yu, supervisor at one of Hong Kongs biggest official kit vendors, SFALO, said his shop had sold more than 100 Real Madrid shirts within days and could not get any further supplies.

"Eighty percent of the shirts we sold were bought with David Beckhams name and the number 23 on the back," he said.

SFALO customers were charged US$53 for each official shirt and another US$32 for Beckham's name and the number 23 on the back, making the total price for a Beckham shirt US$85.

Suen said people are always coming in asking for Real Madrid shirts and going away disappointed since supplies ran out.

"We can only tell them we are waiting for more supplies," he said, "But I don't know when they will arrive."
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