The elimination of the Netherlands from the Euro 2012 football championships will cost the Dutch economy tens of millions of euros in lost income, according to retail research group GFK.

Oranje crashed out of the competition on Sunday after losing 2-1 to Portugal. The Dutch squad, which had been one of the favourites, failed to win a single point in the group round.
Now supermarkets are counting the cost of investing heavily in Euro 2012 products. In total food retailers are set to miss out on €20m in income from Oranje-branded cakes and snacks, GFK research shows. The stores had based their purchasing on a quarter-final place at least.
250 campaigns
According to the Telegraaf, discount supermarket group Lidl is giving all its Oranje-related produce to the country’s food banks rather than try to sell it at a discount.
Frank de Bruin of research group Activate en Co told Nos television there were 250 marketing campaigns based around Euro 2012, almost 100 more than during the World Cup two years ago.
Expectations had been high, De Bruin said. ‘Losing is difficult but in fact Oranje fever had been dampened after the Germany match and consumers had already had enough,’ he said.
Café and bar owners are set to lose out on €12.5m and beer groups such as Heineken have scrapped television commercials. Nos reports that the Ster television advertising company had based its fees on Oranje reaching the final and is now offering a 50% discount on ad slots during the rest of the competition.
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