May 19th 1995, The Province

 First came the game-saving tackle, then came the trip down the the runway to daylight.

When international model Gabrielle Reece unveiled the first Vancouver Grizzlies uniform Thursday at the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre, it marked the end of Operation Bear Wear's covert nine-month evolution and the start of new master marketing plan.

The team's inaugural uniform is expected to hit retail stores between June 15-25, when the team and the NBA's properties division expect Grizzlies sales to hit the NBA's top ten club.

Grizzlies merchandise has been as high as No. 9 among the league's 29 member teams and currently sits 12th.

Thursday was a day of celebration for Larry Donen of the Grizzlies' parent, Northwest Entertainment Group.

But Donen tells the story of the dramatic day the Grizzlies' top- secret uniforms almost got away.

"The Grizzly uniform has been shown to retail buyers from all over the world since Feb. 3," said Donen. "We knew we had to get sales up for Christmas deliveries and the only way to do that was to show all of buyers from places like Kinney's and J.C. Penney.

"At one show, a guy took a picture of the jersey in one of the booths and started running out the door.

"Fred Nykamp (from jersey manufacturer Champion) had to run the guy down, tackle him, grab his camera and rip the film out. It was real close."

With the near-miss behind them, the Grizzlies are now turning their focus to the big hit, their share of the NBA properties division's $3.5 billion US in international sales.

The number has climbed every year and the league's Canadian sales should rise dramatically with the inclusion of the Grizzlies and Toronto Raptors.

Marketing strategies have differed greatly between the Grizzlies organization and their Toronto counterpart.

The Grizzlies, along with their expansion-mates, the Raptors, got preliminary uniform prototypes from the NBA on Feb. 3.

Toronto chose to unveil their's at that time, despite the fact retail chains would not start selling them until at least mid-June.

Vancouver opted to tweak its design and hold their unveiling closer to the same mid-June date.

"We didn't want to release it to the public too far in advance so that people would literally forget it," says Donen. "Then it finally comes to market you have to do a double splash. We have built great momentum this way."

The secret is finally out.

Now the NBA and the Grizzlies will wait to see if their master marketing plan is a fashionable hit.

Grizzlies general manager Stu Jackson said the most important part of the uniform is the trim, an adaptation of Haida art, which runs around the sleeves, neck, waist and right leg.

"It really is a reflection of our desire to be a little bit different yet hold true to the roots of B.C. and Canada," said Jackson. "It's distinctive enough that it separates us from the rest of the teams.

"I hope that we never get into the mold of being typical."

Donen says the design was culled largely from displays at the UBC Musuem of Anthropology.

"We've done research on this uniform and trim in the United States and Canada," said the NBA's Canadian sales development coordinator, Jon Broad. "The focus groups, the retail groups and the NBA's licensees have been so positive that we are comfortable in our decision''

Howard Tsurma