After massive — and dramatic — wins in the Elite Eight, both the UConn men and UConn women are just one win away from playing in the NCAA tournament final. For one New England furniture store, that reality could result in millions of dollars in lost profit.
Jordan's Furniture— a furniture chain in the multiple states of New England — ran what is looking like a potentially costly "UConn Championship Promotion" that is now just two wins away from paying out.
Here's how it works: Any person who purchased "eligible merchandise" from Jordan's between Jan. 20 and Feb. 16 would receive a rebate for their purchase — essentially making it free — if both UConn basketball teams played in their respective finals.
Well, following theUConn men's dramatic late win over Duke, both teams remain just one win away from making Jordan's pay out.
It's not the first time Jordan's has bet on a New England team and lost big. The outlet ran the same promotion for the Boston Red Sox in 2007. When the Red Sox won the World Series later that year, the furniture storepaid out roughly $30 million, per the Hartford Courant.
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Jordan's is able to mitigate some of those costs by taking out insurance to manage its risk. Jordan's senior vice president of marketing Linda SanGiacomo told the Courant the store took out insurance on the UConn bet as well.
She added that the store is hoping UConn pulls off the feat so customers can earn free furniture.
"Jordan's takes out insurance policies to mitigate risk while maintaining engagement," SanGiacomo said. "For the UConn campaign, we purchased insurance at an estimated sales level so that we can deliver on our commitments when they win. As a company we are excitedly rooting for the UConn men's and women's teams. We want both the teams to make it to the finals and we want to give away free furniture to our great customers."
UConn players are in on the promotion as well, appearing in ads for Jordan's. Men's player Silas Demary Jr. said being involved in commercials made him even more motivated to make the promotion happen, per the Courant.
"Yes, for me, that gives me something else to play for, something added to play for," said Demary, who transferred from Georgia. "If we both win, all these people get free furniture. That's something I want to do and be a part of."
In order for that to actually happen, of course, both UConn teams need to win their next games. For the women, that will occur Friday against the winner of TCU and South Carolina. Those teams play Monday.
For the men, it will take place Saturday, when the team takes on Illinois in the Final Four.