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A brand can have all of the floor space they want - for it to move, it has to be a good product. You then have to convince the staff it's a good product, who would then have to convince the customer it's genuinely a good product. And in my experience, where I worked for a retailer that gave EVERY BRAND a chance (hell, they booked BROOKLYNITE, long live TH) that's where the disconnect happens. Note that most of your sales staff are young and really don't have a vested interest in the health of the business, let alone servicing the customer properly in some cases. And their sales pitch is almost always going to be an evangelized one. If the product can't win over the staff based on merit, the only way your staff would push that product is if they SPIFF the hell out of it - and customers will sense that a mile away. Plus it doesn't help when customers walk in with the feeling that they are more informed than the staff is - and the way that I was able to combat that was to be able to answer all of their questions and concerns truthfully.

You are a member of a very large brotherhood then! 😄

Pretty much nailed it here. Market is pretty much the same here in the Northeast.

Colins, I understand your marketing plan. It is the traditional path. There is nothing wrong with that. Just to play Devil's Advocate : what about Warrior ? I know they are 15 + years deep with NHL on ice product but how well has that exposure translated at retail? Just my experience in metro NYC market is that Warrior is still trying to make that NHL exposure work at retail but it just has never happened here. This is totally an observation in my market. How about other areas ? Has Warrior been a strong contender against Bauer/CCM in your market ? This is the road Sher-Wood is looking to get on. Dead End or Interstate highway to success ? Don't know, just want to hear other thoughts based on your market. Thanks. Seems like we are doing Sher-Wood's work for them !!

Seen the new Mission skate samples and the new catalogue, so they're not going anywhere yet... perhaps just a streamlining of the operations, and makes more sense to have the skates on the Bauer site to be seen by more eyeballs.

Matt - hope all is well with you! Been a while! You can certainly bake skates with a thermoplastic rubber outsole. Most of the skates in the 90s had the same outsole and you baked them for longer than current year skates. Just be sure not to walk around in them when you bake them.

Part of the problem is the Mako came out when Easton was going through a pretty steep decline in popularity. If Bauer re-released the Mako II with an Edge holder, new graphics, and called it the UltraBoomADVSonicLite with a superdynaflex tendon guard it would probably fly off the shelves at levels the Mako never came close to.

No doubt. I'm taking the year off but if I'm up that way again, I'll be sure to let you know!

^ If you are in Ice House on a Sunday to ref, stop by the Pro Shop to say hello. I remember when that whole weekend got blown up.

No. Bauer scoffed at that “innovation,” pointing out they had had that feature going back to the one90. Back in the day all skates had it. https://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2013/04/29/Marketing-and-Sponsorship/Easton-skate.aspx

Right? And he's 10. Listen, I KNOW I suck. Little man has been playing full gear since he was barely 4, skating since he was 2. My nephew is basically the same story, except he is 17 and very likely playing in high level juniors this season. I simply can't compete, never will be able to. My sole goal every time I get on the ice with them is to not suck as much as I did the time before. Baby steps.

No one would listen to us @DarkStar50 we know too much, have too much experience, and make too much sense!

Damn Howies, I want my royalties... using a picture of me without my consent. I'll call my lawyer.

When it's your own kids chirping, you care. LOL

Well does it feel too tight? If not then who cares.

34, man, that's young. Listened to them the other day.