Gloves

[JR Boucicaut 3805]

Agreed. It's ridiculous - been working at my store for two wks and every mite has a SyNergy.

[Chadd 916]

Agreed. It's ridiculous - been working at my store for two wks and every mite has a SyNergy.

I just ran some reports on sales last week and we sold nearly 10 times the number junior OPS as compared to junior wood.

[wickedwrister 0]

Agreed. It's ridiculous - been working at my store for two wks and every mite has a SyNergy.

Working in the Beverly Hills of the Mid-West does not hurt either JR! :D

[JR Boucicaut 3805]

Agreed.  It's ridiculous - been working at my store for two wks and every mite has a SyNergy.

Working in the Beverly Hills of the Mid-West does not hurt either JR! :D

This is true.

It's funny - so many opinions...lots of them false.

[chippa13 1844]

Peter, you are correct, retailers play a big role, .... however it's hard to overcome all the advertizing hype.  I tell EVERY youth (and their parents) they don't need a composite stick, yet nearly ALL of them get one, regardless of what we say. Similar with skates. We can talk till we are blue in the face.

I couldn't agree more. Kids walk in knowing what they want, because the pros and the ads told them. It doesn't matter that the product won't work for them or is overpriced. The guys at the other shop said it's the best stick/skate/helmet ever. Sometimes mom and dad listen but they usually get junior whatever he wants, because a 12 year old has more equipment knowledge from seeing what pros wear or looking at ads in the hockey news than someone who sells gear for a living.

Sometimes the kids just might know more. Besides, there is nothing wrong with a kid using a junior Synergy which will have a more consistent flex and curve as compared to wood.

[Chadd 916]

Peter, you are correct, retailers play a big role, .... however it's hard to overcome all the advertizing hype.  I tell EVERY youth (and their parents) they don't need a composite stick, yet nearly ALL of them get one, regardless of what we say. Similar with skates. We can talk till we are blue in the face.

I couldn't agree more. Kids walk in knowing what they want, because the pros and the ads told them. It doesn't matter that the product won't work for them or is overpriced. The guys at the other shop said it's the best stick/skate/helmet ever. Sometimes mom and dad listen but they usually get junior whatever he wants, because a 12 year old has more equipment knowledge from seeing what pros wear or looking at ads in the hockey news than someone who sells gear for a living.

Sometimes the kids just might know more. Besides, there is nothing wrong with a kid using a junior Synergy which will have a more consistent flex and curve as compared to wood.

There is when you have to cut it in half

[Guest Marcelo Cordoba]

Chadd,

That's called the parent believing in the hype that the OPS will make his kid's shot better, faster and harder.

If the parent had any nads (i.e. brains), he'd opt for the wood stick that looks the same.

Back to the glove topic...HockeyMidget, why not take a look at the DR line. They have gloves in their line (850 or 555 series) in the $59 retail price area that will give $89-99 gloves a run for their money!

[Eazy_b97 1]

I think it goes beyond taking his word for it. It'll make the kid happy. That means alot to some parents. They may know its wrong, but its an easy escape route. Johnny Junior thinks a Synergy will make him cool, make him better and make knows it will make him happy (for those reasons). His mental image of himself will shoot up and he'll be happier playing. I think its wrong for his development, and it probably won't help his game, but his parents won't have to listen to him asking for a new stick constantly, saying you never buy me good enough equipment, etc.. They see you, at the store, probably once a week. They take their kid to hockey at least double that and watch probably that many NHL games. There's alot more oppurtunity for their kid to show dissappointment in their parents than there is for you. I'm sure it hurts more when there kids are upset than some manager of a hockey store as well.

Like I said, I think wood is the way to go for most younger guys, but its pretty easy to make most kids happy with a composite.

[jimmy 194]

Agreed.  It's ridiculous - been working at my store for two wks and every mite has a SyNergy.

I just ran some reports on sales last week and we sold nearly 10 times the number junior OPS as compared to junior wood.

I only ordered 1 dz wood Jr sticks for this season. Based on my reports and trends, particularly in the last two years, I'll bet I'll be lucky to even sell that many.

I could see the trend rapidly changing last year.

[DarkStar50 679]

Jimmy,

Were they all right-hand sticks?!!

Betcha they were,

Peter

[puckmugger 0]

Peter,

I absolutely agree with you. Another problem is that in most of the shops out here customer service is pointing you toward the right brand of skates in a pile of boxes on the floor. Personally, coming from an environment where we spent an average of 30 minutes fitting skates and another 45 doing a pro style alignment on every pair we sold, I think that leaving a customer to figure out which pair fits them on their own is pretty irresponsible. They might as well order online.

Point is many shops do an abysmal job of educating their customers. That is the gap I think needs to be filled.

Scott

[DarkStar50 679]

Scott,

I have been in the sporting goods industry since 1978 and have been selling skates since 1979. My partner in the pro shop has been in this industry since 1973. That is over a lifetime in the skates business. We each make it our business to take the time to fit each customer with multiple sizes of skates to insure the right fit. My theory is we are going to try on skates until I eliminate the doubt in your mind about which pair of skates fits you the best. It is as simple as that. Then, the customer can never tell me I sold him the wrong pair of skates. I sold him the pair that he felt fit the best!

It is disappointing to hear of customers having to help themselves when buying skates. That is the "Sports Authority" experience that America has bought into as shopping in a sporting goods store. The Home Depot dumbed down consumers with price instead of knowledge. And once the Home Depot raises their prices, well then the local hardware store is out of business anyway. My first 23 years were spent with one company that was a full line sporting goods store with a specialty in hockey. I was responsible for that niche and we were extremely successful nowhere near a rink! The dumbing of the consumers and poor management eventually killed the business. Now running a pro shop in a four rink setting, it is almost easier to educate the consumer and make him understand what he is buying and why.

My partner's specialty(although a goalie) is high end figure boots and blades. He takes an enormous amount of time to get the proper fit with customers that are ten times more finicky than any hockey player. All his competitive figure sharpenings feature a hand stoned finish. It is a 20-30 minute process that he does by appointment only. We have people drive in from 150 miles for his work. Our building sent 9 skaters to Salt Lake City for 2002. He handled all their competitive sharpenings. One Olympian even had a second pair of steel sharpened and in her bag in case she had a problem(bad nick, etc.) with her primary set of blades!

Just last week I decided to add up a rough total of all his and mine skate sharpenings over our time at the wheel. I guesstimated I've done about 41,000 + since 1980 and he worked at a rink so he did even more since 1973: about 72,000 +. That is alot of time to spend in front of a skate machine!

Peter

[Chadd 916]

I tell my customers to try on every skate they can and go with what feels best. We only carry a limited selection of skates but I put everything on them that is in their size and see what they think feels best. Once they pick a style and a price range I make sure we try a bunch of sizes and keep going until they are too small.

I'm sure you wouldn't be surprised to know how many people have the "perfect fit" then go down a size and they fit even better. It usually surprises them.

[Jason Harris 31]

Peter,

Based upon the passion of your posts in this thread, I just wanted to pass along my respect for your sincerity.

Jason

[jimmy 194]

I'm sure you wouldn't be surprised to know how many people have the "perfect fit" then go down a size and they fit even better. It usually surprises them.

I'd believe it, loose skates always feel better when first put on. My slippers are comfortable, but I wouldn't slap a blade on them and skate.

[DarkStar50 679]

Chadd,

Thanks for mentioning and reminding me: trying on one pair of skates that is too small. That is always the best way to eliminate doubt! I forgot to mention that. Now the customer can never tell you that his new skates are too big! "Just feather your toes on the toe cap."

Peter

[Cavs019 710]

I usually take roughly 30-45 per customer. My method is to try on every single skate within their foot range and price range ie) No 8090s on a vapor foot.) I then go by a different skate on each foot, and then take off the boot that feels worse and replace it with a different skate until one boot remains.

[puckmugger 0]

I then go by a different skate on each foot, and then take off the boot that feels worse and replace it with a different skate until one boot remains.

That's all good and fine until you get the guy that says, "I'll take these." while he has a Bauer on one foot and an Easton on the other. :lol:

Scott

[Guest Marcelo Cordoba]

I thought this thread was about gloves...