LETS PLAY HOCKEY St. Paul expo

[TCsnipes9 0]

One of the times i walked by no one was there, and another time i was too shy to guess wrong. Haha. Did any of our guys stop by?

[Mike - MN 1]

DELETE

[Neal 41]

Misc. unsolicited thoughts:

- Tackla (Montreal) has pretty much given up selling equipment in MN apparently.

What was up with them? Nice, big booth, but hardly anything in it and I never saw a representative in my three trips by. The sticks felt really nice though.

I was impressed by the Christian and Sande gloves as well.

[Go Pio's 0]

Sorry guys...just got back from the show in MN.

To the questions about the Warroad hockey team--yes, we did custom gloves and pants for them this year. We also did custom pants/gloves for Holy Angels, custom gloves for Rochester Century, custom pants/jerseys for Cretin, many custom sticks for Roseau and some other programs. Next year we are doing the Eden Prairie girls pants, Roseville girls gloves, and likely something with Dave Palmquist at S. St. Paul. In order for Christian to resurrect the brand, we need to align ourselves with the best programs in the state. That is what we are trying to do. If we cannot win in MN, we cannot win period.

Thanks for all of the support.

[epstud74 24]

You probably wont have any trouble gaining loyalty with the northern teams at all. Do you travel across the state over into Wisconsin and the UP in Michigan? Christian is a name that needs to make a comeback, especially in MN.

Im guessing doing equipment for the Lake and Classic Lake conferences will get you the exposure you need in the Twin Cities. Do you do a lot of business with Westwood Sports, Dave's Sport Shop, Hanus and others in those areas?

[Go Pio's 0]

Despite how well the Christian brand sold for MN retailers in the past, not many retailers have jumped back on board. You can argue that it's a matter of a failing wood market, but we are much more than a wood company now. Most of Christian's past success was attributed to the name, not necessarily the product. This is similar to many big brands out there today. I believe our product is every bit as good as our competitors, minus the household name.

We spent 3 years hitting MN retailers hard, but with modest success. Consequently, we have been forced to take a lot of our business direct to the teams. I realize this is not a popular decision with the retailers, but at the end of the day, we have a business to run. If the retailer is not committed to selling our product, then we will have to do it ourselves. So far, it has proven to be very successful. As exhibited at the show last weekend, people like and want our product. We just have to find creative ways to get it to them.

[Jarick 5]

Those Northland sticks look pretty sweet.

I know my friends are fond of their memories of Christian sticks...shouldn't be all that hard to get back in the marketplace since pretty much the only wood stick you can find is the 5030 Coffey. I swear they sell it at grocery stores...

But yeah I'd start with a few of the better LHS's, Westwood is great. Also, it seems like every rink has a "pro shop" attached...maybe try contacting them.

[epstud74 24]

Or maybe putting in a few sticks at the Hockey Giant store on 494 in Richfield.. I dont blame you for going directly to the teams to complete transactions, but perhaps MN retailers should do a better job of pushing MN made products. I know back in the day Riedell skates were pushed at Pierce Skate and Ski in Bloomington, where I got my first two pairs.

[Jarick 5]

Or maybe putting in a few sticks at the Hockey Giant store on 494 in Richfield.. I dont blame you for going directly to the teams to complete transactions, but perhaps MN retailers should do a better job of pushing MN made products. I know back in the day Riedell skates were pushed at Pierce Skate and Ski in Bloomington, where I got my first two pairs.

I was thinking the Northland old-school sticks would do well in that location. Seems more people go to that store to window-shop and impulse buy than anything. Or at least I do :) I swing out there a couple times a month to see if they have anything cool in. Otherwise I go to a LHS to buy something like a blade, tape, etc.

[shawn o 0]

I used to buy Christian Torch blades at both Dave's Sport Shop locations but then they stopped carrying them. Then I bought everything in the pattern I wanted at Hockey Zone MN in Blaine. Then they ran out and said they weren't ordering any more.

Then I gave up and started ordering off hockeystick.com and paying for shipping...

I got one of those Northland sticks shipped to me and it is sweet. I used it in a game last weekend and the feeling was nice. Though I did go right back to my Torch composite because I couldn't get used to the weight of it. I'm gonna hang it up in the garage now I think

[TCsnipes9 0]

We stocked a few torch shafts either last season or the season before. Like youre saying, its hard because people see that one and the Synthesis/SyNergy II/Dolomite shaft and end up going with one of those instead.