Saturday, June 27, 2009
Scarf-onomics
Every few months the Economist compares the prices of Big Macs round the world to see if currencies are over or under valued in relation to PPP, GDP and bar.
Now I'm no economist, I'm a very poor mathematician and I really do have way too much free time. But allow me to introduce scarf-onomics. How much do club scarves cost in relation to match day ticket prices in the region?
Comparing anything with England is a god awful task at the best of times considering the complexity they impose on any pricing mechanism. Ticket prices at the Arsenal vary depending on where you want to sit and who they're playing. So for ease of argument let's assume an average ticket of price of 45 GBP, or 67 USD.
An Arsenal scarf costs 7 GBP or 10.50 USD. So a ticket costs 6.4 times the price of a matchday ticket.
Indonesia – ticket is 4 USD and a scarf costs 1.50 USD. Therefore a ticket costs 2.66 times the scarf
Thailand – ticket is1.50 USD. A Thai Port scarf cost a whopping 9 USD. So in Bangkok the scarf was 6 times the cost of admission
Malaysia – ticket is 3 USD but the game I saw had no souvenirs on sale.
Singapore – ticket at Albirex Niigata was 4 USD and the scarf was a phenomenal 17 USD or 4 times the cost of admission.
From this we learn what? That Albirex Niigata live in cuckoo land with their scarf prices along with Thai Port. 70% more expensive than Arsenal scarves? Puh-leese.
Also it's probably fair to say that both Thai and Malaysian football is relatively under valued, certainly at the gate.
Note – while in Thailand and Malaysia admission prices are fixed, in Indonesia there is more leeway given to individual clubs and the price I have quoted in this article is at the higher end of the scale. Likewise in Singapore Albirex Niigate, in common with the other 'foreign' sides charge more than the local clubs who charge 5 SGD or 3.40 USD
UPDATE – on the Sunday I found the local Arsenal outlet had a BEC Tero scarf hidden away in the corner and they were asking just under 500 baht, a sum later matched by Muang Thong United in Star's Soccer, Pantip Plaza.
Now I'm no economist, I'm a very poor mathematician and I really do have way too much free time. But allow me to introduce scarf-onomics. How much do club scarves cost in relation to match day ticket prices in the region?
Comparing anything with England is a god awful task at the best of times considering the complexity they impose on any pricing mechanism. Ticket prices at the Arsenal vary depending on where you want to sit and who they're playing. So for ease of argument let's assume an average ticket of price of 45 GBP, or 67 USD.
An Arsenal scarf costs 7 GBP or 10.50 USD. So a ticket costs 6.4 times the price of a matchday ticket.
Indonesia – ticket is 4 USD and a scarf costs 1.50 USD. Therefore a ticket costs 2.66 times the scarf
Thailand – ticket is1.50 USD. A Thai Port scarf cost a whopping 9 USD. So in Bangkok the scarf was 6 times the cost of admission
Malaysia – ticket is 3 USD but the game I saw had no souvenirs on sale.
Singapore – ticket at Albirex Niigata was 4 USD and the scarf was a phenomenal 17 USD or 4 times the cost of admission.
From this we learn what? That Albirex Niigata live in cuckoo land with their scarf prices along with Thai Port. 70% more expensive than Arsenal scarves? Puh-leese.
Also it's probably fair to say that both Thai and Malaysian football is relatively under valued, certainly at the gate.
Note – while in Thailand and Malaysia admission prices are fixed, in Indonesia there is more leeway given to individual clubs and the price I have quoted in this article is at the higher end of the scale. Likewise in Singapore Albirex Niigate, in common with the other 'foreign' sides charge more than the local clubs who charge 5 SGD or 3.40 USD
UPDATE – on the Sunday I found the local Arsenal outlet had a BEC Tero scarf hidden away in the corner and they were asking just under 500 baht, a sum later matched by Muang Thong United in Star's Soccer, Pantip Plaza.
# posted by Me @ 11:39 AM 
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Interesting.
When I made visited Tokyo not too long ago, each scarf I bought (Tokyo Verdy, Urawa Reds) cost right around US $10.
TV lower bowl ticket ran me US $20, and US $30 at Urawa got me 10 rows from the top at Saitama Stadium.
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When I made visited Tokyo not too long ago, each scarf I bought (Tokyo Verdy, Urawa Reds) cost right around US $10.
TV lower bowl ticket ran me US $20, and US $30 at Urawa got me 10 rows from the top at Saitama Stadium.
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