While London Olympics costs British tax payers nearly £9 billion, it also provided many a business opportunity and with the Games now on a full swing many are busy to cash in on it. Olympics power provider Aggerko already posted a 23 per cent jump in the profit and many companies, stores are likely to report the same in the coming days. Here are just a couple of examples.
‘Wiggomania’ opens gap in the fancy dress market
On the day Bradley Wiggins won Great Britain’s second gold medal of the Games, there were some news reports featuring disgruntled shop owners complaining that fears of transport congestion had meant some areas of London were experiencing a drop in customer. No such worries for this great nation’s fancy dress industry, who saw a sudden surge in demand for comedy stick-on sideburns. No prizes for guessing in whose honour sports fans were wearing them – they were, of course homage to the generously facial-haired Wiggins. Cycling fans in Kingston-upon-Thames, on the route of Wednesday’s cycling time trial, found a fancy dress store conveniently located just off the main route, and many took advantage to snap up those. Meanwhile, online store Party Domain had thought ahead and were trumpeting ‘Why not take a leaf out of their book and invest a mere £1.96 in a pair of brown sideburns from our accessories range to show your support for the British cycling star this summer.’ More committed fans can even go the whole hog and buy a Wiggins celebrity face mask, currently retailing at a mere £3.58 on eBay, but surely subject to considerable inflationary forces now he is even more of a national hero than he was when he made the Tour de France yellow jersey his own.
A good year for the roses
Along with sports drinks, towels and, if perennial rumours of nocturnal habits in the athletes’ village are to be believed, prophylactics, there is another commodity that is provided
by the truckload at every Olympic Games. That’s flowers, and since we’re in England, this time around it’s Roses that are in demand. In every Victory Ceremony at the London 2012 Olympic Games, a stunning bouquet is handed to each medallist. And the star of the show is undoubtedly the rose, the national flower of England, surrounded by fragrant herbs and wheat in a bouquet designed by the acclaimed florist Jane Packer. Some 4,800 bouquets will be handed to gold, silver and bronze medallists during the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games, and Susan Napworth, creative director for Jane Parker, has explained the thinking behind their design. ‘We put in rosemary, mint and lavender,’ she said, ‘because we wanted a bouquet that was scented, to evoke the senses and help the athletes remember the moment. And athletes are less likely to be allergic to them than to the pollen in flowers. ‘The roses are there because they are the national flower and the wheat represents food and energy, which every athlete needs. ‘The eye-catching bright colours in the bouquet reflect the colours and logos of the London Olympics. But we also wanted to create something that looks good from every angle, because the athletes will be holding them up when they wave to the crowds. ‘The Organising Committee insisted that everything must be grown in Britain, so we had to commission someone to grow the roses, because they were not grown commercially.’ So we can safely assume there’s a humble rose grower somewhere who won the mother of all contracts in 2012.
Courtesy New Age
