Beijing Olympic organizers have warned consumers that Olympic
licensed products sold on the Internet are all unauthorized, and
the vast majority of Olympic-themed products sold outside licensed
stores are counterfeit.
Chen Feng, vice-director of BOCOG's Marketing
Department.?
The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX
Olympiad (BOCOG) will not begin online sales of Olympic products
until June this year, so products bought on the Internet are fake,
said Chen Feng, vice-director of BOCOG's Marketing Department.
He suggested people buy Olympic products from licensed stores
and learn to recognize the anti-counterfeiting mark on every
licensed product.
Chen said BOCOG put a number of medium- and low-cost Olympic
products onto the market before the Spring Festival, during which
sales will surge dramatically.
Among the 200-plus new licensed products showcased at the Winter
Order-placing Meeting for Beijing 2008 Licensed Products last
month, one third were low priced, Chen said. But he promised that
the quality of the products would not be compromised.
Chen said BOCOG will put forward a new series of Olympic
products on March 27, the 500-day countdown to the 2008 Olympic
Games, also with affordable prices. "The aim of our licensing
program is to make products accessible to all people that are
interested in them," Chen said.
The average price of Beijing Olympic licensed products is much
lower than previous Games, as Chinese people's spending power lags
far behind that of people in developed countries, Chen said.
The average price for a badge at the 2004 Athens Games was about
7.9 euros (US$10). At the Beijing Games, the average price is about
25 yuan ($3.2). "We are going to lower the price of the badge to
about 10-15 yuan (US$1.28-US$1.92)," Chen said.
He said the licensing program, which was officially launched in
November 2005, only covers about two to three percent of the whole
marketing plan. "Making money is not the key point. It is about
promoting the Olympic culture, brand and concepts to more people
through the products," Chen said.
In order to meet the soaring demand for licensed products, BOCOG
will expand the number of licensed stores from the current 600 to
4,000-5,000 by the end of this year. And during the Games, there
will be nearly 10,000 licensed stores or counters all over the
country, Chen said, adding that licensed products will also be sold
in many other places, like post offices, gas stations and grocery
stores.
Chen said Olympic products will go global soon as BOCOG was in
touch with a number of National Olympic Committees last year who
have expressed their willingness to sell Beijing 2008 licensed
products in their countries or regions.
At present, BOCOG has signed a bilateral licensing agreement
with the United States Olympic Committee, which allows Beijing
Olympic products to be made and sold in the United States, Chen
said.
"We hope to launch overseas sales of our licensed products as
soon as possible," Chen said.
Statistic show that during the 2004 Athens Games there were
about 7,600 retail stores for licensed products and the total sales
volume reached more than 700 million euros ($897.3 million).
Sources with BOCOG revealed that although the prices of Beijing
Olympic products are lower than in the previous Games, a large
quantity of the products will be sold out and the total income is
expected to surpass that of the Athens Games.
(China Daily February 9, 2007)