More affordable Beijing Olympic products will be launched soon, officials disclosed on Wednesday.

 

The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) unveiled the plan at the Winter Order-placing Meeting for Beijing 2008 Licensed Products.

 

"The highlight of this meeting is that most of the new products we are releasing this time are medium or low cost, which are affordable for ordinary people," said Chen Feng, vice director of BOCOG Marketing Department.

 

According to Chen, there were over 300 kinds of new products displayed at the meeting and most of them were affordable, for example, mascot toys.

 

"To meet the needs of more consumers, cheaper licensed products will be launched soon," said Chen. "The aim of our licensing program is to make products accessible to all people that are interested in them."

 

Although the prices will be lower, the quality will not decline.

 

"Lower prices will be realized by simplifying packaging or reducing the size of the products, not by decreasing the quality," said Chen. "High quality will be ensured for all Beijing 2008 licensed products."

 

The purchasing meeting was the third of its kind, and more than 400 representatives from manufacturers and retailers attended. It is expected that as the traditional Chinese Spring Festival approaches, sales in licensed products will surge.

 

Officially launched in November 2005, the Beijing 2008 Licensing Program has attracted much public attention.

 

So far, BOCOG has selected 59 licensed manufacturers and 73 licensed retailers from all over the country. More than 600 licensed stores have been opened across China offering 4,000 kinds of products.

 

(China Daily January 12, 2007)