Stores running out of REDJoan Rampersad Friday, June 9 2006
Warriors t-shirts being snatched up
Paraphernalia in support of the Soca Warriors is being eagerly sought and snatched up in Port-of-Spain, in these last hours before the Warriors start their quest for World Cup glory in Germany tomorrow. At 12 noon, TT will play Sweden in Dortmund.
At fabric stores in the city, red, white and black printed fabric, mostly used for making national flags has sold out twice so far. One store was totally out of red polyester cotton material, and unable to meet the demand. However, other stores appear to be keeping up with the demand. As the clock ticks away to tomorrow’s big game, ready-made garments in red are the favourite choice. In some stores, there were no red items of clothing left on the shelves.
Roadside vendors are doing a thriving trade, with bright red t-shirts conspicuously adorning the areas where they have stalls.
One vendor at the People’s Mall told Newsday yesterday, “My worry is where am I going to get that quantity of t-shirts in time for the opening of the World Cup tomorrow.” He added that he didn’t even have a supply now to fulfill the demand for the items.
Another vendor said that there has been a definite rush on the sales of Warriors t-shirts, and depending on the time of the day she had to re-stock every ten minutes. She divulged that she sells up to approximately 150 t-shirts in a day.
At Kenny’s Sports Centre, where the official Warriors t-shirts are on sale, a spokesman said that while official t-shirts are selling well, the supporter t-shirts are moving faster. They re-stock every day and expect to sell out before tomorrow. The spokesman noted however, that the majority of t-shirts were being bought for family members abroad. He stated that each customer was buying no fewer than half a dozen t-shirts.
That indeed was the case when Newsday caught up with a young woman buying stocks for her friends and family in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She said she was very excited about TT making history at the World Cup, and when she flies back to Florida today she will be outfitting her friends. They will be going to the Hard Rock Cafe to view the Trinidad and Tobago game tomorrow.
But for the last minute shoppers who are looking for a wide variety of Soca Warriors paraphernalia, including red, white or black t-shirts, spaghetti strap tops or baby tees, Sun Things on Frederick Street appears to have them all. A supervisor there said that their sales were just normal and that was a pity because of the quality of their product. T-shirts there are being sold for between $50 and $100. But she is not daunted as she is more interested in supporting the Soca Warriors to the fullest.
