The opening ceremonies for the Summer Olympics in Rio are still seven days away but Rochester is already winning.

Hickey Freeman has been awarded yet another contract to outfit the Olympians with the blazer Team USA will be wearing at the opening ceremonies.

“The volume of the Olympic program isn’t terribly material to the whole factory, but the emotional significance for our employees and for what it means for our brand of our business is,” said Hickey Freeman CEO Stephen Granovsky. “The value that Hickey Freeman can bring to the table that is really meaningful for everyone. I mean, it raises everybody’s spirits, it gives us something to cheer for.”

Hickey Freeman scored gold when it was tapped by Ralph Lauren to manufacture 2,000 blazers to start, with hopes of making thousands more for anyone who wants one.

The Olympic blazer will eventually be available for sale to the public at all Ralph Lauren stores and online.

“Whether it’s the morale of our people, these are employees who, many of them have been through two bankruptcies, before we bought the company,” Granovsky said. “So, whether it’s our people or the message we can communicate to our partners, our stakeholders, you know our suppliers think about when they hear we’re making the Olympic uniforms, people in the market that we communicated to, it’s a tremendous, sort of emotional significance for us.”

Senator Chuck Schumer wears the jacket with pride. He fought to not only keep Hickey Freeman here in the Flower City, but has been working to grow the business and add jobs.

“They were nearly out of work, and now they’ve come back,” Schumer said. “And the crown jewel is to see a billion people who watch the Olympics, when they watch the opening ceremonies – which is a beautiful ceremony – they will see these blazers made in Rochester.”

Hickey Freeman also announced in April it is manufacturing these shorts for Team USA for the closing ceremonies.