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Wild Bill’s Western Store in downtown Dallas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Brian Womack<\/p>\n
Soccer\u00a0star\u00a0Erling Haaland\u2019s global popularity is giving a downtown Dallas<\/a> store the global spotlight.<\/p>\n In a recent Instagram post<\/a>, the Norwegian player is shown walking away from a plane while holding a stuffed raccoon that\u2019s grasping at a liquor bottle \u2014 an item he purchased at Wild Bill\u2019s Western Store<\/a> in downtown Dallas’ West End. Under the photo, the caption reads: \u201cIt followed me home.\u201d\u00a0Haaland had just wrapped up his time at the World Cup, including a stay in Dallas<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Norway’s Erling Haaland \u2014 and his stuffed raccoon he bought while in Dallas \u2014 gets off the plane after his national soccer team landed at Oslo Airport on Monday.<\/p>\n Jan Langhaug\/Jan Langhaug\/NTB Scanpix via AP<\/p>\n It\u2019s not the first post that\u00a0Haaland\u00a0\u2014 one of the biggest names in the sport today\u00a0\u2014 has made in connection with the store. About two weeks ago, he visited the shop to buy hats, a T-shirt and cowboy boots\u00a0\u2014 and soon posted the shopping trip online.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cNo, we weren\u2019t expecting the raccoon,\u201d said Julie\u00a0Newport, who purchased the shop about four years ago with Cody Newport. \u201cAnd then yesterday was just like a storm of obviously media.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019s working to get a few more, Newport said, while noting the taxidermist behind the raccoon is retired.<\/p>\n Related: Dallas bar among most-visited destinations during World Cup, Lyft says<\/a><\/p>\n Haaland, who has more than 68 million followers on Instagram, has propelled the shop in new ways\u00a0\u2014 making it, arguably, one of the most well-known Dallas retailers now. That includes a mention in Oslo\u2019s Aftenposten news site, the BBC in the U.K. and many in the U.S.<\/p>\n Already, the World Cup had been helping bolster the store\u2019s metrics. In June, overall revenue was about 50% more than the typical month. The soccer star visited on June 30.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWe \u2026 had the best month we\u2019ve ever had, and then Haaland\u00a0comes in,\u201d and it goes even further, Newport said. Visit the store\u2019s website, and you\u2019re greeted by pictures of him and a banner reading \u201cNorway\u2019s Erling Haaland visits Wild Bill\u2019s.\u201d The images show him wearing boots in the store, along with a cowboy hat a T-shirt that reads \u201cY\u2019all can kiss my Dallas\u201d on the front.<\/p>\n \u201cSoccer superstar\u00a0Erling Haaland stopped by Wild Bill\u2019s during his time in Dallas for the FIFA World Cup,\u201d the website reads. \u201cThe Norwegian striker embraced true Texas style.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Interest from around the world was pouring in, and on July 3, Wild Bill\u2019s added international shipping. The store has seen traffic from Norway, as might be expected, but also places such as England and Germany.\u00a0<\/p>\n