Up, down, up again: Japan's soccer-related stocks mirror Samurai Blue's performance
02/12/2022 09:00
By Nobuyo Saito
TOKYO, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Japanese shares of
soccer-related companies had a good day on Friday as they
mirrored the national team's roller-coaster performance at the
World Cup where the "Samurai Blue" delivered another shocking
win, this time over global powerhouse Spain.
Having also beaten four-times champions Germany in their
first match last week, Japan advances to the knockout round at
the top of the table. It lost against Costa Rica on Sunday.
CyberAgent Inc 4751.T , which has been streaming all of the
World Cup matches on its Abema platform, was by far the Nikkei
share average's best performer, surging 7.3% before ending up
3.95%. The benchmark Nikkei fell 1.59%.
Access to the company's streaming platform hit a record of
more than 10 million the day Japan clinched a surprise victory
over Germany. By the end of the second match against Costa Rica,
the week's viewing on Abema had topped 30 million.
"With this latest match against Spain, we expect a new high
for access numbers," said Sonoko Miyakawa, an investor relations
official at CyberAgent.
Sportswear maker Mizuno Corp 8022.T and British-style pub
chain Hub Co 3030.T , which are not listed on the Nikkei,
gained 0.98% and 7.03%, respectively.
On Monday, a day after Japan's defeat, shares of CyberAgent
fell 7.6%, Mizuno shed 3.7% and Hub tanked 17.5%, as fans lost
hope of Japan advancing to the next round, with a formidable
Spain as their final opponent.
A Mizuno spokesperson said sales of soccer boots in the 10
days through Dec. 1 more than doubled from the same period a
year ago at its two directly owned stores and increased by 1.4
times online.
"We're especially fielding a lot of calls about the
limited-edition soccer boots that the Samurai Blue are wearing,"
a Mizuho spokesperson said.
Pub operator Hub said COVID-19 could cloud comparisons
against the last World Cup in 2018, but that "there's big hope
riding" on the rest of the tournament.
(Reporting by Nobuyo Saito, additional reporting by Mayu
Sakoda; Writing by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
((ran.kim@thomsonreuters.com; +81-3-4520-1228;))