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)