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Boston Marathon Merchandise, Including Official
Race Gear, Sells Very Well Prior To Race |
There has been a "resounding ka-ching of cash registers at sports shops and the three-day John Hancock Sports and Fitness Expo" in conjunction with today's running of the Boston Marathon, according to Shira Springer of the BOSTON GLOBE. The event "appears largely recession-proof" based on the "buying buzz at the Expo over the weekend and early returns from vendors." adidas, the official outfitter of the marathon, "hopes to double its Boston Marathon sales over last year and planned accordingly with product orders and distribution." Also, sales of other official Boston Marathon merchandise, including "commemorative plaques, jewelry, and lithographs are on pace or slightly ahead of last year." Conventures Inc. Show Dir Kathleen Chrisom, whose company operates the Expo, said that this year's 100,000-square-foot layout is the "largest retail space in the event's history and an increase of 20,000 square feet from last year." Springer notes booths offer "everything from personalized race DVDs to sterling silver cuff links to a framed limited-edition official lithograph," and the crowds "swarm around the official merchandise, the items with the internationally recognizable Boston Marathon logo." Meanwhile, every "major shoe and apparel company has a retail space." Many companies at the Expo "made a conscientious effort to offer products at a variety of price points" -- adidas "offered a free pair of socks with any shoe try-on" (
BOSTON GLOBE, 4/20). RUNNERS WORLD's Mark Remy noted the "running apparel, energy gel, and matted-and-framed-marathon-certificate industries are in fine shape." Marathon expos like the one in Boston "buzz with transactional energy -- the kind created when people reach for their wallets" (
RUNNERSWORLD.com, 4/19).
