Rio Olympics Bet on Flip-Flops to Hit $420 Million Target
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Organizers of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro are banking on the popularity of flip-flops and a yet-to-be-announced cuddly mascot to help meet a target of 1 billion reais ($420 million) in total merchandise sales.
The Rio 2016 organizing committee is halfway through completing 65 licensing agreements with companies that will produce and sell 12,000 games-related products, more than for any previous Olympics. About 16 percent of the total sales will go toward raising the 7 billion reais needed to stage the event.