Going for the Gold

Blue-Jeans Giant Levi Strauss & Co. hoped to cap a decade of surging profits in 1980 by clothing the U.S. Olympic team for the Moscow Games. Not only did the American team pull out of the competition but the denim fad deflated at about the same time. The company's profits fell 43% in two years, to $126.6 million in 1982. Undeterred, Levi Strauss has won the job again and will be outfitting U.S. participants for their ceremonial appearances at the 1984 Los Angeles Games. The company will also provide uniforms for the staff and employees. All told, Levi will be dressing 18,000 people, at an estimated cost of $7 million.

Exactly what the athletes will wear in the opening parade will be settled by ballot. This summer millions of shoppers will be asked to choose among the three costumes shown above: a preppie ensemble, a running suit and a Western getup. To encourage participation, voters will be eligible for $165,000 in sweepstakes prizes.

If all this sounds Like a lot of money, F. Don Miller, executive director of the U.S. Olympic Committee, points out that corporate Olympic contributions are "a great American tradition." Levi Strauss hopes to rekindle an old tradition of its own: growth. With a boost from pre-Olympics publicity, it is expected to show a hefty gain in profits this year.