Olympic game plan: will it bring in the gold? - activewear - Apparel Merchandising

Discount Store News, Feb 5, 1996 by Shari Sanders

This summer, the spirit of competition cascades into Atlanta as the United States hosts its first Olympics since Los Angeles welcomed the world's athletes in 1984. But will American pride prove intense enough for mass retailers to ring up rewarding returns on licensed merchandise?

Virtually every discounter in America is supporting the Olympics, but their approach can be described as passive/aggressive. Retailers know the Olympics is providing a merchandising hook, but they don't seem to have the confidence to commit to a marketing program that will reel in the business.

In talking to merchants it becomes clear that the extent of their Olympic involvement is predicated on the dearth of other compelling apparel lures. And most don't expect to reap the full benefit of Olympic goods until the Games arrive.

"There's no doubt that the Olympics will be the event of the summer and we'll support it. But I'm not sure how popular licensed products will be with all of our customers in all of our locations, so we're being cautious and letting it seek itself out," says John Lupo, senior vice president and general merchandise manager at Wal-Mart. Lupo reports "good" sales of Olympic items in about 150 stores in close proximity to Atlanta. "But the farther away you get from Atlanta, the smaller the presence is and the weaker the sales are. We did tests in stores far from Atlanta - like Houston and Columbus, Ohio - and we didn't get much of a reaction. Shops will be in place in all stores soon and we'll just have to see how they play out."

Sears also believes Olympic goods will prosper in and around Atlanta, but men's activewear and licensed apparel buyer Jon Spotts has qualms about its life expectancy. "We've had a lot of success in our Atlanta-area stores with gifts-with-purchase, athlete appearances and promotions with Champion. Outside of Atlanta, we hope people will also be enthusiastic, but we'll just have to wait and see."

Regional chains, particularly those without Southeastern locations, are bothered by the possible limited appeal of the Olympics. "We're concerned about carrying too much product with the logo and the words `Atlanta 1996' on it," says Denis Lemire, executive vice president of merchandising at Ames. "If customers don't live near Atlanta, they're not likely to want that artwork all over their clothes."

Anxieties aside, retailers agree they must own some stake in what is being billed as a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" by Atlanta Centennial Olympic Properties (ACOP) senior director of retail licensing Frann Vettor. "How can retailers miss out on the Olympics coming here in its centennial year?" she asks. "Everyone will want to feel like they are a art of the phenomenon."

The phenomenon is also being spread through a marketing push to promote the Olympics as a perpetual brand by The U.S. Olympic Committee. The organization is charged with sponsoring athletes and maintaining training facilities throughout the country.

"I remember the 1984 Olymphics - it was a merchandising disaster. But now the effort is being handled much more professionally. Those of us who have been around long enough to remember 1984 would do well to soon forget it," Lupo explains.

Most mass retailers began displaying Olympic merchandise on their floors in one form or another for Holiday `95. National chains made the most pronounced commitment by testing theme shops. Target instituted a chainwide adult apparel program, while Kmart has shops in the greater Atlanta area with a national rollout planned for later this year.

Regional chains such as Clover, Ames, Venture, Caldor, Meijer, ShopKo, Bradlees and Hills are also putting merchandising efforts behind the Games.

Regulating timing and overexposure may be the key to Olympic success. At Ames, front-of-the-store theme shops will not debut until next month. "Are customers going to buy T-shirts in the middle of the winter? I really don't think so," says Lemire. Ames will peak its business in May/June.

Lupo says, "I'm worried that people will be sick of the Olympics,before the Games begin."

ACOP and its licensees understand why retailers may hedge on questionable ventures in times of economic uncertainty, but they are nonetheless determined to convince merchants that results will come as the summer draws nearer. They urge them to establish some son of Olympic presence now so future successes are possible.

"We've been aggressive in working with the retailers and assisting them - the top 50 including Wal-Mart. Kmart, Target and the regionals - with merchandise assortments and display plans." says Vettor of ACOP. "We want to help them to find ways to entice customers. They have to start in some way before the Games start to plant an image in the consumers' minds."

"Retailers are getting into Olympic merchandising slowly and cautiously, and that's totally understandable," notes John Jonczak, director of sales, Team Hanes, a division of master apparel licensee Sara Lee Knit Apparel. Nevertheless, it is in the company's interest to ease the stores into the business. Hanes has formulated an "accordion" merchandising plan that kicked off for pre-Holiday. Last fall, the accordion opened a bit with in-store tests, then opened wide at Holiday with the creation of theme shops, preferably merging hard lines and soft lines. In March, Hanes is hopeful their instrument will start playing a tune that comes to a crescendo for summer.