Big changes?

[jimmy 194]

To grant any organization "major player" status before they do anything is a bit premature. The fact they have recruited top level talent is a good sign for them but it remains to be seen what they do and who they want to be in the industry.

There have been a lot of companies that have tried to 'break" in. Most are just minor, and will stay minor. CCM/Bauer have about 80%, the other just a little share. Every new company gets it's 1%, but doesn't take get its share from BNK or THC, rather from the other little players, like easton, sherwood, itech, mission, etc. IMO, Inno isn't even a minor player, rather a fringe company. I never have anyone come into the store intentionally asking for a Inno stick, never.

[warrior37 0]

jimmy what part of the country is your shop in? i dont know if its because detroit is a hockey hot bed but it seems we cant get enough inno products around here

[Chadd 916]

jimmy what part of the country is your shop in? i dont know if its because detroit is a hockey hot bed but it seems we cant get enough inno products around here

Mostly due to the number of Red Wings using the products. Inno has a miniscule market share.

Prenny

I'm more interested to see what happens on the manufacturing side of things. Will they still primarily be a manufacturer for others or will they concetrate on their own products? Since everyone outsources manufacturing on their products, the cost of entry to hockey isn't that high. Much less so than if a company had to actually produce their own products. I think you will see more "vanity" brands, pros doing thier own line of gear. Unless the small guys band together they will never have the R&D budget or economy of scale to truely succeed.

[jimmy 194]

jimmy what part of the country is your shop in? i dont know if its because detroit is a hockey hot bed but it seems we cant get enough inno products around here

I'm not near detroit, but I can say, absolutely no one asks for Inno's in my area. Bauer is the number 1 brand, followed by CCM. I rarely sell a sherwood composite, but do lot of woodies. TPS is not real popular either. Mission, nope. Montreal, nope. So for me, Bauer and CCM have the big market share. I do have people ask for eastons but I don't stock a lot of them because IMO, they are crap. It's not worth the hassle to have to deal with customers whining about their broken eastons, expecting something from me after the 30-day peroisd is over. SO, I just send them to the other store that carries them.

[warrior37 0]

ive been wanting to say this and i guess here i go. warrior lacrosse equipment really pisses me off. i swear by their heads and shafts, but other than that i go brine and when i played college we were a brine team. warrior has the 'mll' and 'players club' series of protective with pro glo and patten leather and silver leather materials on it and they have a regular series thats black nylon, keep it mind the meat of the equipment is the same, but the silver 'mll' and 'players club' costs on an average $40 more. warrior owns stryke helmets so they pretty much copied their design, and now comes the gloves. lacrosse gloves are so over priced its sick. compared to a hockey gloves they are more mobile but the protection is way sub par. i have brine L-33 models, much like a classic eagle or hespeler hockey glove while most warrior mits look like the goofy ass louisville line (except for the HGT) warrior quality and availability is superior in the lacrosse industry, but "jookie" pricing tactics and trying to use "fresh" lingo like "mack daddy" and "supa fly" i dont think will fly in the world of ice hockey

[JR Boucicaut 3805]

What is "jookie?"

[hockechamp14 0]

i just can't figure why anyone wants to get into the hockey industry. with a little research, and i mean "A LITTLE", any perspective buyers, manufacturers, sellers would find out that this industry is SCREWED UP and not a good one to get into!

maybe its just my opinion, but im one of the guys trying to make a living in this industry, and right now, it aint pretty.

They think it's a good investment. It's like the stockmarket, if you think a stock's going to do well, but it's at a low point, it's probally a good time to grab it...

Hopefully with so much equiptment on the market right now, prices and quality in general will improve. :)

[warrior37 0]

jookie is just slang i use for cheasy or cheap, like they call their new gloves the 'mac daddys' and they have pro glo and patten leather and arent that protective as compared to a hockey a glove but are priced at $171, and i saw a web site where you can get the TPS hgt's nylons for $100, warrior lacrosse doesnt have $70 more dollars of features packed into this gloves called the mac daddy, thats jookie to me

[hockechamp14 0]

Supply and demand, because lacrosse is growing so quickly, they can charge those prices. Besides, the lacrosse players tend to have a lot of money, since its grassroots was essentially at universities and prep schools (after the indians that is...). You can't compare lacrosse gloves to hockey gloves, its comparing apples to oranges.

[Chadd 916]

You can't compare lacrosse gloves to hockey gloves, its comparing apples to oranges.

But the target consumer is pretty much the same.

[hockechamp14 0]

You can't compare lacrosse gloves to hockey gloves, its comparing apples to oranges.

But the target consumer is pretty much the same.

That's like comparing hockey skates to lacrosse cleats then.

[JR Boucicaut 3805]

jookie is just slang i use for cheasy or cheap, like they call their new gloves the 'mac daddys' and they have pro glo and patten leather and arent that protective as compared to a hockey a glove but are priced at $171, and i saw a web site where you can get the TPS hgt's nylons for $100, warrior lacrosse doesnt have $70 more dollars of features packed into this gloves called the mac daddy, thats jookie to me

Better not be an anti-Semitic comment...that's what I thought of when I saw it...

[warrior37 0]

ahhh im not like that

[sherwood21 0]

Ahhah, Mac Daddy's here are going for $299..lol. They have such an advantage over other companies though, it's unfair.

[G.M. 0]

Very interesting that this has happened.

Funny that Warrior enters the fray after TPS "borrows" its Adrenaline name. One more in, possibly one out?

[prenny207 1]

from what i heard yesterday after doing some research on this subject... from some reliable sources. warrior is looking get into the STICK and SKATE market.

now, purchasing inno gets them the stick category... but if there is a category that is more screwed up then sticks, its skates. there are already too many choices on the wall, and too much pressure for the dealers to stock the product! costs are too high, and demand is too low.

if they were simply to buy up companies, like inno, then they should look at TPS Hockey... i hear they are trying to find a buyer!

scoop up old, and try to revive, don't start brand new.

[KnightII 0]

Good points Prenny...However, if they're looking at only sticks and skates, TPS is probably not the right choice as TPS has no skate line. I'm guessing here, but I bet TPS is wanting to sell of the entire line of hockey products and not just the sticks. If so, that would make them unnattractive to Warrior.

Could it be though that since they have capabilites in most other areas, like protective, that they're only looking for a stick and a skate company to add to what they already have? It makes no sense to me to for them to jump into the hockey market with only sticks and skates. Am I missing something here?

[Guest Marcelo Cordoba]

Since everyone outsources manufacturing on their products, the cost of entry to hockey isn't that high. Much less so than if a company had to actually produce their own products.

I disagree with you Chadd. The amount of product that you have to order from a factory in the Orient in order to get a great per piece price does cost a lot of money. These guys are bringing in containers, not just pieces here and there.

Also, in the event that these guys go with protective, I think you will see these guys try and do something different on the that front. I can see the product managers from the lacrosse side getting involved with the hockey side and having some fun.

[the_game 452]

I live right down the road from the new balance headquarters, anyone want me to go in there and start demanding answers?

[KnightII 0]

I live right down the road from the new balance headquarters, anyone want me to go in there and start demanding answers?

Inquiring minds want to know!

[Chadd 916]

I just got a phone call that gave a little more background. This has the potential to be very interesting on a number of levels.

[Karly14 21]

I just got a phone call that gave a little more background. This has the potential to be very interesting on a number of levels.

im pumped for this, it will give us a whole new brand to try, and talk about here. lets face it the "whats better the vapor xxx or the synergy 1300 skate" topic is getting pretty redundant. A new brand like this is exactly what retailers need. I hope they are more innovative and invetive then reeebok

[Chadd 916]

I just got a phone call that gave a little more background. This has the potential to be very interesting on a number of levels.

im pumped for this, it will give us a whole new brand to try, and talk about here. lets face it the "whats better the vapor xxx or the synergy 1300 skate" topic is getting pretty redundant. A new brand like this is exactly what retailers need. I hope they are more innovative and invetive then reeebok

Oh yeah adding another skate to ask if it's better will improve things. There are already plenty of brands, I don't see any retailers looking forward to greater market segmentation. In fact, most retailers would be happy with fewer brands/products to stock. Reebok has also come into hockey the right way, adding a new stick line with foam core blades and putting their name on the new Jofa protective.

[Reaper 0]

I just got a phone call that gave a little more background. This has the potential to be very interesting on a number of levels.

Do tell!

[Thockey17 1]

If there is protective equipment being put out by Warrior, thats where the big changes will occur. Warrior lacrosse equipment is almost indestructable. Take a titanium lacrosse shaft, swing it as hard as you can into the pad(s), and you wont feel anything at all.

I can definately see something good happening in the hockey world because of this change. Only thing is Warrior's pricing is out of control