London 2012 shop opens in Paddington Station

A new London 2012 shop opened in The Lawn shopping area of Paddington Station today, selling a wide range of merchandise such as soft toys, clothing and accessories, key rings, gifts, pin badges and collectables. LOCOG CEO Paul Deighton opens the new shop in Paddington Station, with a little help from the official London 2012 mascots Wenlock and Mandeville.The new 65 square metre space at Paddington follows the successful launch of the London 2012 store at St Pancras International Station. Best sellers to date are Wenlock and Mandeville mascot soft toys, London 2012 Olympic logo pin badges and the London 2012 men’s Union Jack t-shirt. The London 2012 Olympic legends Top Trump cards and children’s cap have also proven extremely popular. The London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) also took the opportunity to announce details of its wider retail programme today, including the operators of its in-venue retail outlets at Games time. These operators will be responsible for managing approximately 80 different points of sales across all competition and non-competition venues. IMG will operate retail outlets at Wimbledon, The Retail People will operate retail outlets at all other competition and non-competition venues. Event Merchandise will operate as a special purpose retailer. LOCOG CEO Paul Deighton commented: 'Olympic and Paralympic souvenirs are a key part of any Games. Merchandise is an important revenue stream when funding the Games but the products also give people the opportunity to show their support for London 2012 and for Team GB and ParalympicsGB. 'Of course, in years to come, many of these souvenirs will become collectors’ items and memories of this once-in-a-lifetime event coming to London and the UK.' (view:www.london2012.com)