The 2018 Winter Olympics are just kicking off, but merchandise sales tied to the games are already in full swing. A select number of companies in the promotional products industry are helping power the sales push behind officially licensed Olympics gear.

Those companies include Top 40 distributor Staples Promotional Products (asi/120601). The industry’s largest distributor by revenue told Counselor that it has delivered games-branded products for clients that include 24 Hour Fitness, Bridgestone, Coca-Cola, Hershey, Liberty Mutual, United Airlines, Toyota, Visa and the United States Olympic Committee. “Even though the Winter Games are not as busy as the Summer Games, we had a very successful year from a sales perspective,” Rich Witaszak, vice president and general manager of Staples Promotional Products, told Counselor. 

Witaszak shared that Toyota is a new Games sponsor and new Olympic client for Staples. For the automaker, Staples has provided an array of Olympics merchandise co-branded to Toyota and the games/Team USA. Items include lapel pins, luggage tags, key fobs, banners and apparel like a zip-up fleece outerwear piece. “Toyota has been very engaged with TV ads and the athletes they are sponsoring, which has also led to significant merchandise sales,” Witaszak told Counselor.

Of course, Staples Promotional Products has been excited for the opportunity to support all of its clients. That support included developing what Witaszak described as a “pop-up store technology solution” that provides a platform for sponsors to extend product offerings to partners, such as Visa making merch available through the platform to bank members and merchants. 

Asked if there was a particular product that was doing well across the board, Witaszak pointed to the Brass Team USA Cheering Cowbell. Check it out below.

Beyond the promo space at retail, Ralph Lauren designed the official Team USA Collection. Items like the Team USA ceremony sweater have a classic Gatsby-era preppy feel, while the ceremony mittens took inspiration from traditional Scandinavian design, particularly Norway.

Still, the Ralph Lauren collection is far from all about harkening to the past. The pixelated, geometric, all-over print on this hoodie that features an American flag-inspired design feels youthful and contemporary. Even more cutting edge, Ralph Lauren sought to deliver the “next evolution of wearable technology” with its heated winter jacket. Heat is conducted through the jacket using printed carbon and silver inks. Ralph Lauren is also empowering consumers to personalize/customize the design on a unisex beanie/toque using an online design tool. 

Also at retail, Fanatics is taking a new approach to merch sales by selling Team USA merchandise from official sponsors, such as Nike, Swatch and Oakley, at a pop-up store in New York City, a short walk from Rockefeller Center. Launched in December and open through February 25, the pop-up store is the first in-person retail outlet outside the Olympic Training Center in Colorado, according to Fanatics. “We don’t truly know how big it could be, but, again, the location is fairly significant,” Peter Zeytoonjian, USOC managing director of marketing and consumer products, told Sports Business Daily.