Bay says 2010 Olympic apparel is 'very Canadian'

Canadian athletes enter the National Stadium for the closing ceremonies at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Sunday, August 24, 2008. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward)

When the uniforms Canadian Olympic uniforms for the 2008 Beijing Games were unveiled, about the most flattering term used for them was funky - a word that can alternatively mean trendy or having an unpleasant smell.

Jeff Sherman, president and CEO of Hudson's Bay Co., admits the uniforms the company provided athletes last year missed the mark.

But the official Olympic clothing line for the 2010 Games that will be unveiled on Thursday will include coats, hats and scarves that Canada's athletes will be proud to wear, he said.

The Bay has the exclusive rights to clothe Canada's Olympic team, a contract they won starting with the Torino Olympics in 2006 and lasting until the London Games in 2012.

The 2010 product line, which will also be sold in Bay stores across Canada starting on Thursday, is "very Canadian," he said.

"I think people will be very pleased with what they see," Sherman said in an interview in Vancouver.

"There was an enormous effort that was made to connect the history, the culture, the attitude of what is Canada to now the Games in Canada," said Sherman, an American who took on the top job at Hudson's Bay in July 2008.

Before taking the helm at the Bay, North America's oldest company, Sherman worked in executive roles at such retailers as Polo Ralph Lauren Corp., Limited Brands Inc. and Bloomingdales.

Sherman said the 2010 Olympic apparel was created by the Bay's design team, but included "a lot of input" from the athletes.

"If the athletes aren't proud to wear it and they don't like wearing it then you've missed the mark. When they wear it and talk about it and are proud to wear it, the product will resonate with the customer," he said.

Sherman admitted unveiling the apparel is always risky, especially if the design is criticized, as it was for Beijing.

"It's risky if you don't follow a fundamental principle that wasn't necessarily followed for Beijing," Sherman said.

"You really want the product to be something that people feel proud to have as part of their wardrobe, that is not just a souvenir of the Games themselves."

The federal government and several opposition MPs cried foul after learning most of the uniforms for Canadian athletes at the Beijing Games were made in China, not Canada.

HBC defended the decision, but the politics of the uniform wasn't the worst of it.

The loud red uniforms unveiled for the athletes headed to the 2008 Summer Games were widely panned and cruel comments about the outfits are still making the rounds online.

Sherman said the goal for the 2010 apparel was to create something that was "longer lasting" and can be worn with other items in a wardrobe.

"I think that is what this product is all about. That was not what Beijing was all about," he said.

But if the Beijing uniform missed the mark - and "it did," said Sherman - it wasn't the fault of the design team.

"This was not something that somebody did wrong or badly," he said.

"They were given the directive to design product for the Games. My directive is to design product for peoples' wardrobes that is symbolic of the Games. It's very different."

Sherman wouldn't provide any details of the outfits - not even confirming if they were red - but said the items will include parkas, gloves, scarves and other products.

The uniforms will be unveiled Thursday at what will be Hudson Bay Co.'s signature Olympic store in downtown Vancouver.