Sponsor Spotlight - Sochi 2014; FINA Convention; Sainsbury's; adidas

Sochi Secures Safety, Hospitality, PR Sponsors; Paralympic Partner

Sochi 2014 signed multiple sponsors Friday at the International Investment Forum in Sochi.

CROS, one of Russia’s largest public relations firms, was signed as a supplier for PR needs. The company will deliver "communication support to promotion campaigns," a Sochi 2014 statement said. The deal lasts until 2016.

"Our task as the organizers of the Games is to involve as many people in our country as possible in the Sochi 2014 project," Sochi 2014 President & CEO Dmitry Chernyshenko said. "To do this, people need to be told about how preparations for the Games are progressing, how we are implementing social projects, and what legacy the Games is already leaving and will continue to leave behind. To solve this issue, we will be assisted by this valued supplier – CROS, a proven professional in the PR services market, that, I have no doubt, is more than capable of helping to solve all Sochi 2014 tasks."

US-based hospitality provider Jet Set Sports will provide hospitality packages to Russian clients for the Sochi 2014 Olympics.

"Thanks to Jet Set Sports, guests of the Games will experience the world-famous Russian hospitality and leave with the fondest memories of Sochi," Chernyshenko said. "The new Official Supplier for the Games is the leader in its field, as it has shown more than once at previous Olympic Games."

The Klinsk Institute for Occupational Safety and Health signed on as occupational health and safety suppliers for the Games.

As part of the deal, the institute will create the organizing committee’s workplace safety standards and insure their implementation.

"We are developing and putting forward effective standards, which will enable us to ensure the safety of everyone involved in Sochi 2014," said Andrey Moskviche, Klinsk Insitute director.

Chernyshenkoadded: "Our team is growing every day, with full-time staff, contractors and, eventually, around 25,000 volunteers. They will all be protected by world-class health and safety standards."

German company Ottobock was also announced as a Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games technical sponsor. The company will perform maintenance on ostheses, prostheses and wheelchairs used during the Paralympics.

Ottobock has provided technical service to the Paralympic Games since 1988.

"Support of the Paralympic Movement has long since become an integral part of our company culture," said Oliver Jakobi, General director of Ottobock Company group in Russia. "The Paralympic Games demonstrate in an inspiring way that people with limited mobility can not only live an active life but can also achieve impressive athletic successes."

No financial figures for the deals were released.

FINA Convention Sponsors

Malmsten and the city of Gwangju, South Korea signed up to be sponsors for FINA’s 2nd World Aquatics Convention in Moscow.

They join Kazan 2015 and Councilman Hunsaker as the sponsors for the convention, schedule for Oct. 29 through Nov. 1.

DHL also joined the convention as its official logistics provider.

Omega, Crol Centre, Speedo, Arena, Myrtha Pools, Alge Timing, Colorado Time Systems, Mad Wave, StrechCordz, Variopool, 2521 Simply Swimming, Dentsu, Water Technology Inc., Deep Vision and the City of Windsor will all have exhibitions.

"We are delighted to welcome Malmsten and the City of Gwangju as Partners of the FINA World Aquatics Convention," FINA president Julio Maglione said in a statement.

"Having supplied equipment at London 2012, Malmsten leads the way in delivering the highest quality competition equipment. Gwangju – known as the City of Light – can assist FINA promote its Convention in new territories."

Sainsbury's Renews Paralympics Sponorship

Sainsbury's will continue its sponsorship with the British Paralympic Association through 2016.

The deal will cover the Winter Paralympics in Sochi in 2014 and the Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

Sainsbury's previously had a Paralympics-only sponsorship for London 2012.

The grocery chain also announced its Active Kids for All program as part of its London 2012 Paralympics Legacy Program.

The Active Kids for All Program will donate $1.63 million to U.K. schools to help reach 500,000 disabled children.

"After this country’s greatest ever summer of sport we must now do all we can to inspire the next generation of future Olympians and Paralympians," U.K. sports minister Hugh Robertson said in a statement.

"Sainsbury’s Active Kids For All, along with the Sainsbury’s School Games, will help increase disability sport in schools and encourage all children to get involved."

British Sales Drop During Games

The United Kingdom’s Office of National Statistics says retail sales decreased 0.2 percent from July to August of this year. The decline could be attributable in part to the Olympics.

Figures suggest shoppers instead became spectators of the Games, leading to a drop-off in online retail sales.

"August's U.K. retail sales figures add to the evidence that the Olympics did not provide the hoped-for boost to spending on the High Street," Samuel Tombs, U.K. economist at Capital Economics, was quoted by the BBC.

Adidas Says Football Drives Sales

German sportswear giant Adidas notes that investment in the FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro Championships generate more than the Olympics.

"[For] the Olympics, the immediate sales impact is not so huge because most of the sports are not so commercially driven. Nobody honestly buys a jersey of a marathon runner just because he has won a gold medal," said adidas corporate communications officer Jan Runau Chief.

Adidas recorded sales of $2.1 billion from football in 2012. The company also managed to triple its Olympics merchandise sales at London 2012 as compared to Beijing 2008.

Written by Ed Hula III and Aaron Bauer

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