Going For Gold | PPB Mag


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Going For Gold
By: Tama Swan, Associate Editor
Issue: 2010feb

An eight-time Olympic licensee explains how his supplier firm continues to win this coveted client.

The 2010 Winter Olympic Games kick off this month in Vancouver, British Columbia, and if history tells us anything, the Olympic Village will be ripe with promotional products. From athletes’ uniforms and souvenir shops to the coveted Olympic medals, there is an opportunity for practically every product category to make an appearance at the games.

But like a speed skater training to meet the qualifying time, becoming a licensee with the Olympics is no small feat. If you are able to do it, it’s both a solid book of business and an honorable distinction.

Lake Forest, California-based supplier Aminco International, Inc. (UPIC: AMINCO) has been an Olympic licensee since the 1996 games in Atlanta, and it is the exclusive U.S.-based lapel pin licensee for the Vancouver games.

PPB talked to Edward Wu, vice president of Aminco, to find out how the company came to be an exclusive licensee and to learn first-hand what it’s like to work with Olympic committees.

PPB: How did you locate this opportunity?
EW: After we were involved in a very successful World Cup in 1994, the Atlanta Olympic committee offered us a license, even though there were already two other pin licensees.

PPB: What’s the lead time for working with the Olympics? Was it years in the making?
EW: Yes. We start developing new products and marketing for the next Olympics even before the current one starts.

PPB: What is the process of working with the Olympics like?
EW: The Olympics is both exciting and challenging. And every Olympic game is different. We spend a lot of time analyzing each market. Something what works in Atlanta doesn’t necessarily work in Tokyo or even Salt Lake City. There are also multiple approval processes to go through, both with our customers and with the Olympic committee. It can be tough to come up with products that meet everyone’s approval and are manufacturable.

PPB: Is the proofing and approval process any different than orders with a lower profile?
EW: Everything needs to go through strict approval processes—artwork needs to be approved, samples need to be approved, and often we’re dealing with tight deadlines. The proofing process isn’t that much different than lower profile orders, except that maybe it’s more stringent.

PPB: What is the distribution like, and what are your responsibilities?
EW: Distribution is important to any retailer that wants to be part of the Olympic experience. Our responsibilities as an Olympic licensee include anything and everything, from product development and marketing to sales and distribution. We do it all.

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