London 2012 Announces Retail Licensees

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has announced that its in-venue retail outlets at Games time will be operated by three licensees.

IMG will operate retail outlets at Wimbledon, The Retail People will operate retail outlets at all other all competition and non competition venues and Event Merchandise which will operate as a special purpose retailer.

These operators will be responsible for managing approximately 80 different points of sales across all Games-time competition and non-competition venues.

LOCOG also opened its latest retail shop in Paddington Station – based in ‘The Lawn’ shopping area.??

The 700sq ft space will sell a wide range of London 2012 merchandise including Wenlock and Mandeville mascot soft toys, clothing and accessories, key rings, gifts, pin badges and collectables.

The shop at Paddington Station follows in the footsteps of the successful launch of the store at St Pancras International Station, which opened on July 27 this year.

The mascot soft toys are currently the best seller at the St Pancras shop – followed by the 2012 Olympic logo badge.?

LOCOG CEO Paul Deighton commented: ‘Merchandise is an important revenue stream when funding the Games but the products also give people the opportunity to show their support for the London 2012 and for Team GB and ParalympicsGB.’?

London 2012 now has 36 licensees who will produce and sell merchandise between now and 2012.??

The programme is expected to generate around £1billion worth of sales, contributing around £80m to the staging of the Games.