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For Jeff Sherman, carrying Olympics-inspired clothing at Hudson's Bay Co. is a chance to wrap the U.S.-owned retailer in the Canadian flag - and revive its tired name.

It's also an opportunity for Mr. Sherman, chief executive officer at Canada's oldest company, to reverse its disappointing track record as the official outfitter and clothing purveyor for the Canadian Olympic team.

"He has a lot riding on it," said Tony Chapman, founder of marketing firm Capital C. "The people that need to be seen wearing the gear don't shop the Bay."

The stakes are higher for the 2010 Winter Games than they were for previous Games. Being in Canada, the Olympics can generate at least 25 per cent more interest - and Olympic-tied merchandise sales - than previous Games held outside the country, said market researcher Gordon Hendren.

"It means a lot," Mr. Sherman said. "We have been working for a year now, redeveloping the strategy...I thought the previous management had moved too far away from [connecting the company to Canada's past], in many ways even abandoned it.

"I was looking for the right handle to reintroduce and reposition the company. The Olympics became the perfect opportunity to do that."

Thursday, HBC, which runs the Bay department stores and discounter Zellers, underlined the importance it is placing on the Olympics in unveiling a broader apparel offering than in the past. As well, in trying to lure customers in tougher economic times, HBC has priced the clothing about 20 per cent to 25 per cent lower than items produced for the 2006 Winter Games in Torino.

The challenge for HBC, losing market share for years, is to shore up the declining number of Canadians who are buying Olympics merchandise, said Mr. Hendren, president of Charlton Strategic Research Inc.

During the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, 11 per cent of Canadians reported buying Canadian Olympics merchandise, according to Mr. Hendren's research. That was down from the 17 per cent of the Torino Games in 2006.

"They clearly missed the mark in the past two Games," Mr. Hendren said. "This is a big one. What's at stake here is much bigger than it was in the past."

Added Howard Davidowitz, chairman of retail consulting firm Davidowitz & Associates in New York: "This is the kind of thing that, if the product is right, can give them a lift. And they need a lift. They need a big lift."

In a bid to get a boost, the retailer has tied the Olympics clothing to Canadian historical themes. It launched a commercial that focuses on HBC's Canadian heritage and winter sports with the tagline: "We were made for this."

HBC is starting to show new signs of life, according to Richard Baker, the U.S. real estate magnate who acquired HBC in 2008. He's so pleased with the progress that he wants to give a little piece of Canada back to Canadians by taking the country's oldest company public again in early 2011, he said last week.

"We're really using all the marketing collateral for the Olympics to re-connect Hudson's Bay to its history and get people emotionally connected to both the Games and the company."

During Beijing, HBC missed out on the opportunity to use its Olympics sponsorship to boost its business. The China-inspired "urban camouflage" print in the Canadian team's uniforms failed to resonate with consumers at home, resulting in soft sales.

This time, HBC was intent on creating clothing that could be part of a shopper's permanent wardrobe, Mr. Sherman said.