Kitchenware buyers clean up after French World Cup win
Fans of France’s football team have kicked a goal thanks to a China-based kitchenware company, which offered customers a refund on some products if the side won the World Cup.
Shanghai-listed company Vatti Corp started paying refunds to customers on Monday after the French side beat Croatia in the World Cup final, the firm announced on its official Weibo account.
Vatti said it kicked off full refunds on Monday for people who bought its “championship products” between June 1 and July 3. The promotion included four plans priced from 2,699 yuan to 4,599 yuan, or about US$404 to US$688.
Although not an official sponsor of the World Cup, the company has a sponsorship arrangement with the French Football Federation. The firm, which makes stoves, range hoods, ovens and gas water heaters, was reported to have sold 20,000 sets of its “championship products”and some estimated the refunds would be more than 50 million yuan.
However, the company may have scored an own goal as Vatti Group shares fell one third in the past month, partly on fears the company may not be able to afford the full refunds and partly because its chief sales representative has been missing for two weeks and distributors in Beijing and Tianjin were shut down and being investigated.
Source: http://www.atimes.com