Wild Bill’s Western Store in downtown Dallas.
Brian Womack
Soccer star Erling Haaland’s global popularity is giving a downtown Dallas store the global spotlight.
In a recent Instagram post, the Norwegian player is shown walking away from a plane while holding a stuffed raccoon that’s grasping at a liquor bottle — an item he purchased at Wild Bill’s Western Store in downtown Dallas’ West End. Under the photo, the caption reads: “It followed me home.” Haaland had just wrapped up his time at the World Cup, including a stay in Dallas.
Norway’s Erling Haaland — and his stuffed raccoon he bought while in Dallas — gets off the plane after his national soccer team landed at Oslo Airport on Monday.
Jan Langhaug/Jan Langhaug/NTB Scanpix via AP
It’s not the first post that Haaland — one of the biggest names in the sport today — has made in connection with the store. About two weeks ago, he visited the shop to buy hats, a T-shirt and cowboy boots — and soon posted the shopping trip online.
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“No, we weren’t expecting the raccoon,” said Julie Newport, who purchased the shop about four years ago with Cody Newport. “And then yesterday was just like a storm of obviously media.”
And then there was interest in buying that stuffed raccoon, which is listed at $750 online. The store was able to get one more but that sold within a few hours. Now, it’s working to get a few more, Newport said, while noting the taxidermist behind the raccoon is retired.
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Haaland, who has more than 68 million followers on Instagram, has propelled the shop in new ways — making it, arguably, one of the most well-known Dallas retailers now. That includes a mention in Oslo’s Aftenposten news site, the BBC in the U.K. and many in the U.S.
Already, the World Cup had been helping bolster the store’s metrics. In June, overall revenue was about 50% more than the typical month. The soccer star visited on June 30.
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“We … had the best month we’ve ever had, and then Haaland comes in,” and it goes even further, Newport said.
Interest from around the world was pouring in, and on July 3, Wild Bill’s added international shipping. The store has seen traffic from Norway, as might be expected, but also places such as England and Germany.
Visit the store’s website, and you’re greeted by pictures of him and a banner reading “Norway’s Erling Haaland visits Wild Bill’s.” The images show him wearing boots in the store, along with a cowboy hat a T-shirt that reads “Y’all can kiss my Dallas” on the front.
“Soccer superstar Erling Haaland stopped by Wild Bill’s during his time in Dallas for the FIFA World Cup,” the website reads. “The Norwegian striker embraced true Texas style.”
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Newport said the store was shut down for about an hour and a half for Haaland’s visit before it reopened after 7 p.m. for regular business before it closed. The impact was brisk.
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“So we ended up closing a little bit later that day, like 8:30, and people were already starting to buy the T-shirts because he’d already posted it, which we didn’t realize,” Newport said.
After putting on the hat in the store, he declared “I look like a proper cowboy” in a YouTube posting of his trip to the store. The video ended with autographs and a hug.
The store, which also was recently featured on the show Dutton Ranch, went to work ahead of the World Cup including bolstering inventory.
“We’ve done a lot of preparation for FIFA,” Newport said. “It was an amazing tournament. … Dallas did such a great job.”
It’s a boost for the core of the city. The store is located on the Western side of the downtown on Market Street.
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“We’re so excited to see the enthusiasm this has generated for Wild Bill’s and downtown Dallas,” said Jennifer Scripps, president and CEO of Downtown Dallas, Inc. “It’s a great reminder that our local downtown businesses and authentic experiences resonate far beyond our city.”
Newport is hopeful the new-found notoriety will pull more people into the store not just internationally, but locally as well.
“I don’t think we fully know yet how this will continue,” Newport said. “All we know is what we’ve experienced in the last few days, which has been incredible.”