Nu Skin Enterprises, a Provo-based personal care and nutritional supplement distributor, was named the newest sponsor of the 2002 Winter Games Friday in a deal valued at $20 million.
The announcement was scheduled to be made late Friday morning at the Delta Center to the 10,000 distributors from around the world and employees attending the company's 10th international convention that continues through Saturday.Nu Skin will be the official direct-selling company of the 2002 Winter Games and the U.S. Olympic teams through the 2004 Summer Games in Athens, Greece, under the terms of the sponsorship deal signed with the joint marketing arm of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee and the U.S. Olympic Committee.
One of Nu Skin's best-known products, a multi-vitamin supplement called LifePak, will be an officially licensed product. The company, which owns Pharmanex, will also be the exclusive licensee for dietary supplements.
Nu Skin is the 14th company to sign on as a sponsor of the 2002 Winter Games but only the second since the scandal surrounding Salt Lake City's bid surfaced late last year. SLOC, which still needs to raise some $179 million from sponsors, must split the proceeds from such deals with the USOC.
A Nu Skin spokesman said the scandal did not lessen the value of the sponsorship to the company.
"Definitely not," said Larry Macfarlane, vice president of corporate communications. "The scandal did not in any way diminish our support for the Olympics. Being a local company, of course we feel a desire to be supportive of the 2002 Games. But we're supportive of the whole Olympic movement."
Nu Skin features Olympians in much of its marketing, including gold medalist Al Joyner and Utah Jazz star Karl Malone. Macfarlane said products have been licensed in the past by the USOC to carry the Olympic rings trademark.
Friday's announcement is good news for SLOC, which has been pushing hard to close the budget gap.
"We are thrilled to welcome a great home-grown company as an official sponsor. Nu Skin is one of the tremendous success stories in Utah business history," SLOC President Mitt Romney said in a prepared statement.
Other sponsors include General Motors, AT&T, Anheuser-Busch, US WEST and Delta Air Lines. The joint marketing arm is also selling supplierships to the 2002 Games and the U.S. Olympic teams. Suppliers include O.C. Tanner Co., Questar Corp. and KSL-TV and radio.