Before the World Cup began, "two beverage companies had agreed with José Luis Sosa Días, who manufactures flags in Madrid, to purchase 6,000 flags decorated with their logos from him for every round that La Roja advanced in the tournament," according to Juan Fernández of EL PERIODICO. The beverage companies had "planned to hand out the small flags at bars and during celebrations." This World Cup helped Sosa sell 15,000 small flags, but "Spain's elimination in the group stage prevented him from selling an additional 25,000." Sosa said, "At three euros ($4) per flag, this failure has cost me €75,000 ($102,350)." As "a symbolic anecdote, the setback suffered by the flagmaker summarizes the bad business that a multitude of companies and sectors of the economy have faced due to Spain's early return home from the World Cup." La Roja's success on the field before this World Cup had "added special expectations that were translated into many agreements, commercial moves and products created for the occasion." Adidas, the official shirt provider, "has 70,000 shirts in stock, many of which it is now offering at half price." The five million bottles and cans of Cruzcampo beer "decorated with the faces of Spanish players will this summer leave Spaniards with the strange taste of defeat." Gillette had "created razors with the national team's logo." Oil company Cepsa had proposed "a promotional contest to capitalize on the wave of football fever in Spain." The impact of this World Cup "will include both investments made, and lost, as well as earnings that would have been made" had the team succeeded. Emilio Gallego of the Spanish Hospitality Federation said, "For us, the national team playing on a Tuesday is equivalent to having two Saturdays in a week" (EL PERIODICO, 6/28).
