Mexican football fans ace shoppers' list

Apart from being one of the most active and liveliest spectators, the Mexican football fans are also among the top spenders, especially for premium and luxury items such as jewellery and watches, during the ongoing FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.Speaking to Gulf Times, Shine Gold & Diamonds' marketing head Sameer Adam said Mexicans have contributed mainly to their sales, buying diamonds and gold items such as necklaces and bracelets, mostly in the 18karat range."We've witnessed a lot of Mexican shoppers coming to our stores to buy different jewellery items, followed by Brazilian and Ecuadorian fans, as well as other Latin American visitors particularly during the group stage of the tournament," he explained.Adam said he finds the Gold Souq and Souq Najadah's location - where nine of their 13 stores are set up - as an advantage since it is within the central bus station and Souq Waqif area - a meeting point and popular tourist destination in Qatar. Qatar’s gold and jewellery market has been witnessing an upward trend in sales even in the lead-up to the hosting of the World Cup, and was further boosted by the influx of visitors.This was echoed by employees of other jewellery and watches shops in Doha citing a demand surge for such items since the start of the tournament where many of their customers were Mexicans.An employee of a leading watch shop chain in Qatar said he witnessed an influx of Mexican shoppers at their store, located at a major mall in Doha, from November 19 and until the last day of tournament's group stage. "We've seen many Mexican shoppers buying watches, of course the brands that they know and familiar with, and we consider it as a windfall for us during this period (World Cup)," he said. "I think second in our list are Brazilians, they too are looking for automatic timepieces and spending much on these items."He said that he expects that such trend could slow down naturally as the number of football teams now is lesser compared to the first few days of the World Cup when all 32 participating teams were still playing.Though a large number of fans like Mexicans and Brazilians may have left the country, the watch shop employee remains optimistic in the coming days as shoppers - fans and supporters of the four remaining teams - have plenty of time to visit the malls and shopping centres during the day and after every match in the evening.A popular perfume brand at a major malls also witnessed its sales soaring when thousands of Mexican football fans were still roaming around the city, according to one of its employees. "I really miss them (Mexicans) not only because they make the mall lively and in festive mood but also our sales was really up every day."Even several hours before their flight, We've seen them here at the mall shopping for various items, including perfumes. I hope we can attract other fans to buy our products," she added.