A backpack with a $449 price ticket and bucket hat promoting for a whopping $129 has not delay tennis followers eager to get their arms on official Ralph Lauren merchandise on the Australian Open.
On Friday night the queue to get into the Ralph Lauren store outdoors Rod Laver Arena was longer than the constructing itself.
There was an costly vary of merchandise on provide inside, together with canvas backpacks with the phrases “LOVE AO23 POLO” for $449, canvas tote baggage with the identical phrases for $269, reversible bucket hats for $129, caps starting from $89 to $99, AO branded zip-up jackets for $419 and hoodies for $249.
The objects are additionally out there to buy on the model’s web site.
The Ralph Lauren branded merchandise for the AO is much more costly than the usual merchandise out there on the AO retailers round Melbourne Park.
Food and drink distributors have been additionally buzzing at supper time on Friday.
The “Grand Slam Oval” space proved troublesome to navigate with enormous queues for foods and drinks, each desk and chair taken, and the grass areas coated by folks enjoyable within the solar.
A bottle of water prices $5.60, a can of sentimental drink $5 or bottle $6, and a bag of Red Rock Deli chips $6.70 throughout distributors on the match.
A beer prices tennis followers about $13, a glass of wine or cider about $12, and a espresso $5.50.
A sausage roll or pie units you again about $9, and many of the meals hovered across the $20 mark.
The queue for the favored Charcoal Fish situated contained in the “Beach Bar” space close to Garden Square had about 100 folks ready. There the battered flathead and chips value $26.
Social media customers have referred to as the costs of foods and drinks “ridiculous” however “unsurprising”.
“It’s price gouging to the max. I pack my own food for the AO these days,” one particular person wrote.
“That’s the beauty of being trapped in the sports precinct far from other options,” stated one other.
One particular person on Reddit wrote: “Went to the AO yesterday evening. It’s a great atmosphere, but definitely feels like you’re paying the premium there for everything … Must be a nightmare for families to stump up once you’ve bought the ground pass as well!”
But many have defended the distributors, claiming the companies have been paying vital quantities simply to be there and informed these complaining to pack their very own meals.
