Olympic sponsor complains of poor returns

A Chinese sponsor of the 2008 Beijing Olympics has complained that its expensive Olympics marketing campaign has not translated into higher sales as it had expected. Vantage, the official kitchen untensil provider of 2008 Olympics, announced that its net profit in 2007 decreased by more than 40% from the previous year, due in large part to increased marketing expenditure. President Huang Qijun told China Business Net (in Chinese) that Vantage’s marketing costs for the year were 40% higher in 2007 than the average level for previous years due to its Olympic marketing strategy. The company’s stock began trading at RMB11.5 (US$1.58) on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange today, 4% lower than Wednesday’s closing price.