For the third consecutive Olympics, Team USA merchandise is moving fast. Sales at the USOC's store in Sochi and online have more than doubled that from the '10 Vancouver Games and have been so strong that they are on track to exceed sales for the '12 London Games. This would mark the first time since the '02 Salt Lake City Games that sales of Winter Olympic apparel outpaced Summer Olympic apparel -- a feat made all the more surprising because so few people even knew where Sochi was before the Games began, said USOC Managing Dir of Consumer Products Peter Zeytoonjian. "When we started marketing Team USA going to Sochi, people didn't know where Sochi was," he said. "People thought it would not be as popular as London. But that's been proven wrong. Fans want to support the team no matter where the Games take place. That's a good realization." Zeytoonjian credited the USOC's "Raise Your Hands" fundraising effort with helping drive sales. The organization made blue mittens with "Go USA" stitched into them and is selling them for $14 at retail outlets around the country. It sent out emails and mailers promoting the mittens, Zeytoonjian said, helping raise awareness for other Team USA apparel. The top-selling items at the Team USA store in Sochi are Nike's medal-stand jacket and its tech fleece for men and women. Ralph Lauren's best-selling items are Opening Ceremony sweaters and hats. "It's a collectors item," Zeytoonjian said of the patchwork cardigan that Ralph Lauren made. "Either you like it or you don't. Those that like it, love it. I love it. It looked great on TV and the athletes wore it with pride." Zeytoonjian said the USOC will take the higher demand for Team USA merchandise into account when it does its ordering for the '16 Rio Games (Tripp Mickle, Staff Writer).
PACKING THEM IN: USA TODAY's Dan Wolken reports the Bosco store in Sochi "never fails to draw a horde." Bosco is the official outfitter of the Russian team, and wait times "just to step foot in the store have ranged from 40 minutes to more than two hours since the Games began." Bosco is "omnipresent" at the Games, "with all volunteers and security personnel wearing its insignia on distinctive, multicolored jackets." But it also is "considered trendy nationwide, which explains the craze over $185 track suits, $125 scarves and $50 T-shirts with the Bosco logo" (USA TODAY, 2/19).
