Beijing 2022 official licensed products selling out

The official licensed products of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games have been out of stock several times online during their retail pilot run, although the games will open in four years and the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games have not yet started, Thepaper.cn reported. Gold bars, stamps and badges are the most popular products of all.

A screenshot of some of the products available in the Beijing 2022 official online store. [Photo/Beijing 2022 official online store]

A series of products for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games have been available for purchase on the official website since Dec 16, 2017. The Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games is using a new sales strategy combining online stores with retail locations.

The first round of Beijing 2022 retail stores opens in Beijing on Jan 10, 2018. [Photo/VCG]

There were over 50 types of products in stock across five categories soon after the first product, the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games' inaugural souvenir medal, hit the market. On the first day, visits to the official online store reached 380,000 and pageviews were 730,000, resulting in total sales of over 1 million yuan ($157,844).

Silver and gold souvenir medals are presented in Beijing on Jan 17, 2018. [Photo/VCG]

The top five best-sellers are the Classic Silver Souvenir Medal, the souvenir stamp set of the two-time Olympic city, the Classic Gold Souvenir Medal, the souvenir envelope and the gold snowflake medal.

Besides the official online store, 15 licensed retail stores also opened nationwide this month. Retail stores have a more complete range and wider variety of products compared to the online store. There are over 140 official licensed products available in retail stores including medals, key rings, precious metals and apparel.

"It is a meaningful Olympic Games since it will be held in our own country," said a customer. "I think gold bars have a big collector value, and I will go to another store to have a look because it has sold out in this one."

A portion of the sales will be given to the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, providing funds for 2022 Olympic Games every time someone buys a licensed product.

This is the first time that Olympic products have been sold on a third party platform, Tmall owned by Alibaba Group. The product categories have also been expanded and more attention has been paid to women and young people this time.

According to Piao Xuedong, head of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games' marketing department, licensed products will be officially launched in July next year, with more products being unveiled at that time.