INTERVIEW
Almost three months without football in France. For all fans, it is starting to take a long time. Especially when this Friday June 12 was to mark the start of Euro 2020. Finally, because of the coronavirus, the competition will not be disputed until 2021. But in this ocean of sadness and dismay, a ray of sunshine: this report has not changed the plans of the Panini brand, famous for its albums and self-adhesive cards published during each major football competition. So there will be a 2020 edition in the coming days.
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"It’s an album that we fill in as a family, that we share with colleagues"
"Many of our collectors asked us for the album. They sent us a lot of letters," reveals Isabelle Fillon, marketing manager for the brand in France, to Matthieu Belliard on Europe 1. "At Panini, these albums by major Competitions are eagerly awaited. We have offered them for 40 years. There is a real expectation on the part of collectors. It is an album that we fill with family, that we share with colleagues. "
In the age of social media, Panini albums seem immortal and intergenerational. "It remains totally relevant," says Isabelle Fillon. Demand remained strong during containment. "During the Covid, we realized that our products were extremely sought after by families to keep the children occupied."
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For this opus 2020, it will be "a preview and a taste of Euro 2021, totally collector" which will be based largely on the pages already developed before the start of confinement. "In general, for this type of competition, we start to prepare the album in December. For the 20 teams who won their qualification in November, the work was already, in part, done," explains Isabelle Fillon.
The Tour de France will also have the right to its stickers
Another satisfaction for the unconditional collectors, Panini also announces that his Tour de France album will be available in kiosks. "The Tour de France edition was due out in May. The album was ready, we had to stop the machines in production. A decision was made to release this collection at the start of July."