VANOC Closing In On Winter Olympics Merchandise Sales Record

More Than 3 Million Pairs Of Hudson Bay Co.'s Red Mittens Have Been Sold Already

VANOC officials are “predicting a Winter Olympics record in merchandise revenue and a big boost to the ongoing struggle to balance the budget,” according to Mickleburgh, Willis & Armstrong of the GLOBE & MAIL. While VANOC Dir of Licensing & Merchandising Dennis Kim "was cautious about predicting final revenue totals, he said that VANOC is certain to eclipse" Salt Lake City’s C$35M in earnings during the '02 Games. VANOC’s budget projection is "an ambitious" C$54M, "higher than the merchandise revenue" for the ’00 Sydney Games. VANOC Exec VP & Deputy CEO Dave Cobb Saturday said that the retail revenue “could compensate for the [C$1.5M] lost to the cancellation of 28,000 standing room tickets at weather-plagued Cypress Mountain.” Mickleburgh, Willis & Armstrong noted halfway through the Games, VANOC has "already struck merchandising gold." At Hudson’s Bay Co.’s (HBC) Olympic superstore in downtown Vancouver, the “crush of people lining up to buy is so large, store officials decided Saturday to keep doors open all night.” Other HBC stores across the country are “shipping their remaining Games merchandise to Vancouver,” and "scores of extra staff have been hired to cope with the crowds outside" HBC’s Olympic store. HBC will “soon run out of its most popular item, the ubiquitous red mittens." More than 3 million pairs have been sold, and “only a few hundred thousand are left.” After the red mittens, HBC’s “top seller is the Olympic hoodie, with two million bought to date.” Kim also said that cowbells have been a “surprise hot item.” Kim: “Their sales are incredible” (GLOBE & MAIL, 2/21).

USA House Has Already Sold Out Of Polo's Knit Caps

CHECKOUT COUNTER: VANOC officials indicated that "they've already hit their merchandising sales goal" of C$50M halfway through the Games. Visa has also reported “strong figures," as spending on Visa cards topped C$9.8M in British Columbia in a single day last week, an “increase of more than 91% over the same day last year.” The WALL STREET JOURNAL’s Jessica Marmor noted HBC’s superstore “constantly has a line filing down the block and back around again to get in,” and the red mittens are the “most popular item.” Meanwhile, the USA House has “already sold out of their hottest item, the Polo Ralph Lauren knit caps that athletes wore at the Opening Ceremony, which cost $75” (WSJ.com, 2/21). The GLOBE & MAIL's Andrew Willis noted halfway through the Games, HBC is selling Olympic-themed merchandise at “three times the expected rate.” More than “20,000 transactions a day are being run through its tills.” Shoppers are “lining up at 5:30 in the morning to get into an Olympic superstore that doesn’t open until 9.” HBC “expected 10,000 costumers a day in the downtown Vancouver store,” and late last week "up to 50,000 shoppers went through the doors." HBC execs have said that they “plan an initial public offering early in 2011, and the positive buzz from the Games can only enhance” the company’s IPO pitch. Meanwhile, Elevate Sport Inc. -- the clothing company that is providing more than 1 million blue, green and white jackets, shirts, hats and sweaters to VANOC -- is “stepping up its efforts to re-supply” the organization, after “high sales in the first week of the Games left shelves depleted” (GLOBEANDMAIL.com, 2/21).

CELEBRITY APPEAL: In Montreal, Amy Husser noted Oprah Winfrey “gave out 300 pairs” of the red mittens to her talk show’s audience Friday while interviewing U.S. snowboarder Shaun White. HBC “reportedly sent Winfrey a shipment of the coveted cozies after she professed how much she liked them on her show earlier in the week.” The mittens also have been “shown on the hands” of Vice President Joe Biden, NBC’s Matt Lauer and model Cindy Crawford (MONTREAL GAZETTE, 2/21).