Dow Say Olympic Affiliation can Double Russian Sales to USD1.5bn

March 22, 2011

One of the Olympic Games’ main sponsors, Dow Chemical Company hopes that its affiliation with the flagship sporting event can double its sales in Russia to US$1.5bn by next year, they have claimed.


George Hamilton, the vice-president of Dow’s Olympic Operations, said: “We estimate that the Olympic Games will drive in excess of $100bn of infrastructure spending over the next 10 years.”

Dow Chemical joins Coca-Cola, General Electric, Visa and Panasonic as one of the main sponsors of the Olympics through to 2020, and Hamilton believes that this sponsorship should be a springboard to increasing the company’s brand awareness outside of the United States, and that this may require joining up with Russian companies.

He said: “This gives us a global platform for telling Dow’s story, about how our technology and our science bring improvements to mankind every day.

“To be truly successful here we have to maybe do some acquisition and some [joint ventures].”

Hamilton dismissed the notion that Russia is a difficult place for foreign companies to do business further voicing the view that Russia is an hospitable business environment.

Dow has a joint venture already in place with Dow-Izolan, making polyurethane systems, and has an understanding in principle with Rusnano, a state run nanotechnology company.

Sponsorship is approximately $90m for a four year cycle, and requires Olympic hosts to give preference to Dow products used in competition projects, on the proviso that they meet technical and cost specifications.

Hamilton added that Dow was supportive of Russia’s entry into the World Trade Organisation, believing that this step “will accelerate the country’s integration with the rules and opportunities of the broader global economy”.

He went on to play down corru[tion concerns which have centred around the construction of venues for the Sochi winter Olympics in 2014, stating: “Is it [corrupt] there? Probably. But we do not see this as an issue for Dow.”