| Salt Lake City |
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| GER |
12 |
16 |
7 |
35 |
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| USA |
10 |
13 |
11 |
34 |
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| NOR |
11 |
7 |
6 |
24 |
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| CAN |
6 |
3 |
8 |
17 |
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| RUS |
6 |
6 |
4 |
16 |
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| AUT |
2 |
4 |
10 |
16 |
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| ITA |
4 |
4 |
4 |
12 |
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| FRA |
4 |
5 |
2 |
11 |
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| SUI |
3 |
2 |
6 |
11 |
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| NED |
3 |
5 |
0 |
8 |
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Games were bonanza for many Salt Lake firms
54% noted rises in sales; professional businesses suffered
By Jenifer K. Nii
Deseret News business writer
A year ago, Nell Raymond and Rocky Raymond worried about the effect the Olympics would have on their business and their lives. They worried about horrible traffic jams and hollow cash registers.
As it turned out, the Raymonds' biggest worry during the Games was decidedly different: how to keep up with all the work that rolled into Display Business, their specialty large-format display printing company.
"I've never worked so hard in all my life," Nell Raymond said. "We pretty much worked seven days a week, between 12 and 14 hours a day, just to fill the demand that was out there."
The Raymonds were not alone.
The majority of downtown businesses saw a bump in sales during the Olympics, according to a survey released this week by the Downtown Alliance.
In an informal survey of 199 businesses, the alliance found 54 percent had some level of increased sales during the Games. Of those, 14 percent had at least a 100 percent increase in sales.
Big winners included the hospitality sector, Olympic merchandise vendors and many restaurants, said David Baird, the alliance's economic development director.
"In general, it worked out very, very well," Baird said. "A lot of the downtown businesspeople are still counting their money."
Display Business, 380 W. Pierpont, used the Games to boost its exposure among local and visiting firms. The company creates large prints such as signs, banners and building wraps.
"It was absolutely chaotic, but in a good way," Nell Raymond said. "It was better than we thought it would be. I think it put us in a better category. It gave us exposure to a lot of companies that we otherwise wouldn't have had the opportunity to work with and that I think we'll have lasting, ongoing relationships with."
Another big winner was Crossroads Plaza, which benefited from its proximity to the Olympic Medals Plaza, Main Media Center and downtown hotels.
Sarah Darke, marketing director for mall, said 17 percent to 20 percent of the mall's businesses doubled their sales during the Games. About 16 percent had at least a 50 percent increase, while 30 percent reported a 25 percent to 50 percent increase in sales.
"We had an awful lot of foot traffic," Darke said. "A lot of it was our proximity. We were right there. The nice thing was that all that foot traffic correlated to sales."
At Crossroads, the food court restaurants performed especially well, as did stores that sold Olympic-related merchandise. Darke said the mall also gave its tenants the option of staying open until midnight during the Games, allowing certain businesses (the restaurants, for example) to capitalize on the late-night medals plaza crowds.
In all, everything worked out pretty much as the mall expected, Darke said.
"In our research prior to the Games, one thing we were pretty sure of was that people were going to be paying for their hotel, Olympic tickets. They'd be here for about a four-day period. There wasn't going to be a lot of expendable income. So the things that were selling well were what we expected: the Olympic stuff, the food court and the made-in-Utah stuff."
But the Games did not provide everyone with the same revenue windfall. While some businesses were able to cash in on the Olympic hoopla, the alliance found that some were not.
Baird said 18 percent of businesses that responded to the alliance's survey reported no change in their sales during the Games. Another 28 percent said they saw some level of sales reduction.
Professional firms, like accountants or law offices, suffered. Though traffic was significantly lighter than many expected, thanks to Utahn heeding the pre-Games advice of city and Olympic officials, Baird said many feared coming into the downtown area.
"Many clients didn't necessarily want to drive downtown during the Games," he said.
Raymond J. Etcheverry, president of the Salt Lake City law firm Parsons Behle & Latimer, estimated business at the downtown firm was about 75 percent to 80 percent of normal during the Games.
The firm implemented shortened business hours during the first week of the event, anticipating heavy traffic on the streets and a slower flow of clients in the office. But, by the second week, the firm had shifted back to normal operating hours.
While the firm did experience a reduction in business, Etcheverry said, it wasn't enough to sour its Olympic experience.
"In the short term, it obviously affected our business for those few weeks," he said. "But I don't think that any of us feel that because there was a downturn in our business, it makes (the Games) a negative experience for us or for the city. I think we would view it as a positive thing for the city and the community. The fact that we were off on our business for that period of time doesn't change that."
Though not all businesses cashed in on the Games, the alliance also gave the event a thumbs-up.
"In general, it worked out very well. I know that that theme might not be true in areas outside of downtown, and that's a little unfortunate. But downtown, we had almost 100,000 people a night. It can't hurt when one-tenth of a million people are walking the streets of downtown," Baird said.
"I think that it really helped Utahns come together. We were extremely proud of what we were able to show the world, and I think that continues to this day. We know that we did a very good job."
E-MAIL: jnii@desnews.com
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March 22, 2002
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