Requiem For A Heavyweight

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At first glance, the competition for Olympics licenses looked like a race, so we called our article on the subject, "The Race for Olympic Profits" (INC., October 1982, page 73). Perhaps we should have called it a slugfest. As it turns out, one of the winners is none other than Ken Norton, a former world heavyweight boxing champion. Now a small businessman based in Los Angeles, Norton is producing key holders bearing the Olympics logo. The name of his company is, appropriately enough, Ken Norton Co.

As the race -- or slugfest -- has proceeded, small businesses like Norton's have continued to garner an impressive number of the remaining licenses. Among the successful contenders are Action Headwear, a three-year-old hat company run by Melvyn and Judith Richardson, and Gal Plastics Inc., a maker of plastic bags, both of Los Angeles.

Other companies that have received Olympics licenses include: Stuart Hall Co., a school-supply concern in Kansas City, Mo.; Avandi II Productions in Los Angeles, a film production company that will be making calendars; Pouilloux S.A., Paris, a manufacturer of sunglasses; and Murray Ohio Manufacturing Co., a Brentwood, Tenn., bicycle market.

As for Norton, he insists that his company won the license on points, as it were. "We got the license because of our unique product, our presentation, and because we're a small minority business," he says. His partner and ex-manager, Jack Rodri, explains that they plan to use the Olympics as a springboard into retail sales and profits. Until recently, the one-year-old company had sold its Swiss-made key holders to corporate clients (Hertz, American Express, Best Western Hotels), operating at a slight loss on annual sales of about $250,000.

"The phones have started ringing, and there's a lot of action," says Rodri, who expects sales of the Olympics key holder to exceed $10 million.

Other licensees are equally hopeful. Melvyn Richardson of Action Headwear hesitates to disclose his projections but notes that his company has recently moved into a 20,000-square-foot facility, is doubling its work force, and will make a "six figure" investment in new equipment to prepare for the increased production that the 1984 Olympics will mean. Gal Plastics expects to sell no less than 10 million of its $1.50 souvenir bags.

"We think this is a golden opportunity," says Norton, "financially, but also for me to establish my credibility as a businessman." He points with pride to the display racks, distribution network, sales arrangements, and personal promotions that he and Rodri have masterminded. He also notes the similarity between business and prizefighting. "In its own way, it's the same -- you have the research, you have the preparation, and you have the delivery." And when they all come together perfectly, you have the prize.