FEATURE: No-spectator Olympics dashes sporting goods makers' PR hopes

As the Tokyo Olympics prepare to kick off in just a week in largely empty stadiums, Japan's major sporting goods makers have mostly given up on plans to use the event to promote their brands -- and on hopes of seeing a sales bump.The Olympics, already postponed for a year over the COVID-19 pandemic and with Tokyo under a fresh state of emergency as coronavirus cases rise again, will begin on July 23 without spectators at stadiums in the capital and at many venues elsewhere in Japan.Given the mood, firms are going low-profile in games-related advertising lest they antagonize a public worried…READ FULL ARTICLE