TOKYO OLYMPIC GAMES 2021: HIGH MERCHANDISING PERFORMERS
With the Olympics getting postponed in the year 2020, the future of the souvenirs store remained bleak for some time. Organizers had predicted sales worth 100 million dollars for over 5,500 licensed products relating to Olympics. With the onset of the pandemic, we not just witnessed a sea of empty stadium chairs at various events but also an enormous revenue loss. Keeping the safety precautions in mind all the sporting events were postponed to 2021, but the branding of 2020 remained intact. Scrapping the 2020 merch would have resulted in a revenue loss of over 3 million dollars.
As the waiting period to grab the Olympics merch increased, so did the prices of the products. Currently products including official Olympic chopsticks, Olympic umbrellas, and large stuffed mascots that can cost a minimum of $200 if not more. Since Olympics were still branded as Olympics 2020, millions of merch were saved from being discarded, and once the Olympics began the memorabilia sold like hotcakes.
The safest fashion bet in 2021, was the Olympics merch. Many MNC companies such as Ralph Lauren (US) Armani (Italy) and Lacoste (France) dressed the Olympians of their countries to put their best efforts in the Olympics while other teams tried to put in their best effort enlisted with their foreign names to create their own unique looks.
According to an analysis licensing growth shows that team USA and team GB are monetizing their brands. Around 60% of their ranges are branded to which France has 0% in single branding. While Li Ning was the official apparel partner, the official ceremonial kits are being sponsored by Raymonds. The sales of merchandising products tagged with ‘Olympics 2021’ have boomed 202,684% since April as audiences board the hype train for the sporting jamboree. Other products that have been flying off the shelves include ‘Olympic torch’ goods, which rode a 924% surge in revenue and a 430% increase in units sold between March and July.
In India cheer for India campaign has been huge. Yash Gupta, the owner of a Delhi-based apparel start-up, Merchindyes, said “Our Olympic masks are a big hit so far, looking at the demand, we had made 2,000 pieces. Out of these, 1,000 have already been sold! And we are getting a lot of bookings every day. People are buying in bulk for friends and family, teams from different sports complexes are also buying these for the players, coaches, and management. Some sports fans have also been enquiring about Olympic-themed T-shirts.”
While the 2020 Olympics has ended the interest of loyal fans to purchase Olympics merch still remains intact.
