Companies meeting Demand

[CTHockey 2]

Just trying to see what everyone's general concensous is with this topic. I've always thought that early booking orders help companies predetermine how much of a product needs to be made. I know Bauer has made a tremendous effort this year to always keep in stock their key products, ie: 5500 helmet... But my question is, why is it that they never seem to have enough of their skates. XXXX and XXV's have been backordered for a month and wont be available till late Decemeber. Granted their both extremely popular but if a skates going to be available for atleast two years why not atleast try and stock a little more then they have??? I know its impossible for companies to determine exactly how many units of a item to make and they dont want to be stuck with an extremely high number of left over products at the end of the year. I just thought this skate would be a little more available then it is. We've already gone through several runs of both skates yet the demand is still extremely high..

[lb33knight 0]

Just trying to see what everyone's general concensous is with this topic. I've always thought that early booking orders help companies predetermine how much of a product needs to be made. I know Bauer has made a tremendous effort this year to always keep in stock their key products, ie: 5500 helmet... But my question is, why is it that they never seem to have enough of their skates. XXXX and XXV's have been backordered for a month and wont be available till late Decemeber. Granted their both extremely popular but if a skates going to be available for atleast two years why not atleast try and stock a little more then they have??? I know its impossible for companies to determine exactly how many units of a item to make and they dont want to be stuck with an extremely high number of left over products at the end of the year. I just thought this skate would be a little more available then it is. We've already gone through several runs of both skates yet the demand is still extremely high..

This does seem to happen a lot. Simply put, they just can't keep up with the demand. Have you noticed how many people are using XXXX's? And they haven't even been available for that long. The same thing happened with the One90. If my memory serves me correct, right when they hit the market the demand was so high that they couldn't keep up. Thr demand was calling for 2000 pairs a week (or was it a month...?) but they could only produce 800. Things will get caught up soon. All the seasons are getting underway so its a little hectic now.

[Jarick 5]

You mean to say demand is exceeding supply on horribly overpriced high end equipment? Don't tell DJ!

Yeah, it does seem like you have to wait a few months to see things regularly in stock. But I'd imagine hockey equipment has high initial demand and then a pretty constant lower demand after that. I'm curious to know if equipment like skates and high end sticks are batch produced in one or two huge goes or if they're churned out regularly.

[Hockey Fan 51 0]

It seems more companies are switching to shorter runs of product a few times a year instead of producing everything up front. Trying to stop the overstock and mis-judging inventory problems that killed everyone a few years back.

You would think they will get better at it though.

[duch 0]

It's extremely hard to determine what to do when a product becomes extremely popular as you've already mentioned. You can't be sure when the demand fades off if it will be for just a short interval or it's just a prelude to even greater demand for it later. Everyone seems to be wearing the Vapor skates or Bauer products on their feet. Their demand must be mind boggling.

[lb33knight 0]

You mean to say demand is exceeding supply on horribly overpriced high end equipment? Don't tell DJ!

Yeah, it does seem like you have to wait a few months to see things regularly in stock. But I'd imagine hockey equipment has high initial demand and then a pretty constant lower demand after that. I'm curious to know if equipment like skates and high end sticks are batch produced in one or two huge goes or if they're churned out regularly.

The items are churned out regularly.

[Nutella 0]

Eh, those skates are sitting there at my local Scheel's.. right on the shelf (well, in the back. But, they have 'em).

There has never really been anything that they don't have when I was looking for it. Save the 'Supreme' line of gloves from NBH. I had to go Easton (the rest of my stuff is NBH).

[CTHockey 2]

Tell me if im wrong but most companies keep skates out for two years before changing them. The last two years the Bauer XXX was one of the most popular skates ever. So they introduce the new XXXX which is suppose to be a better well improved version of the XXX. It just seems to me that they would have made a few more then they initially did seeing as how this skate will be available for two years before a newer version is introduced. Obviously no company wants to sit on unsold product but with this being a brand new skate i would have thought it would be a little more available.

[djinferno 2]

You mean to say demand is exceeding supply on horribly overpriced high end equipment? Don't tell DJ!

Hahaha!

[Hockey Fan 51 0]

It just seems to me that they would have made a few more then they initially did seeing as how this skate will be available for two years before a newer version is introduced. Obviously no company wants to sit on unsold product but with this being a brand new skate i would have thought it would be a little more available.

The supreme line of skates used to be the hottest thing on the market too, but that ended and Bauer was stuck with tons of 8000s to unload. Plus the first run of skates nearly always has some issue that comes up, if you overproduce you just amplify that issue.

There's also something to be said about scarcity to try to drive the price up a bit more. If you can get them everywhere then you can't keep bumping the price up on them.

[TBLfan 25]

People want what they can't have.

[LkptTiger 1]

...then decide to buy the next best thing. Most people don't have the product knowledge and patience to know what they should be using and wait for it to become available.

[TBLfan 25]

Some do... But seriously, how many people were dying to buy the white 9K? RBK timed that out beautifully, they gave just enough time for the hype to get built up and then supply was filled... Then this season a new skate pops up and demand starts building up within the in-the-know crowd, later will in the rest of the community.

This leaves demand high, reserve stock low and keeps the plants busy. It's a win, win, win situation.

[LkptTiger 1]

RBKs don't come close to fitting my foot properly, but I see your point... ;)

[TBLfan 25]

It could be worst, I'm inbetween the Vapors and the RBKs. My heel is super narrow so the new vapors work better than RBKs. Out of all the skates in my LHS the new Vapors were the only thing that felt tight yet good out of the box.

[JR Boucicaut 3810]

You guys do realize where the stuff is made, right? And how long it takes to come from said place?

[LkptTiger 1]

Just about everywhere outside North America, correct? <_<

[shifter 0]

CHINA!! :)

[Aussie Joe 0]

If you guys ever need a skate that is maxed out locally but still only a few months old, you can always order from the Australian distributor. He keeps a crap load in his warehouse. Only problem is you will have to deal with the massive price increase... Vapor XXXX sell here for $1300AUD RRP, Vapor XXX still available but $900AUD RRP.

;)

[DarkStar50 680]

The vendors deal with the same problem the dealers have: forecasting. If the LHS could perfectly forecast his sell-through, he would have no old or dead stock. It doesn't work that way. The LHS usually ends up with a few items he blows out in no time and more than a few that his projections for sales were incorrect. Now, get to the vendor side and the same problem occurs on a larger level that is significantly greater in numbers. Whether it is Vapor XXXX skates or the Supreme protective line, when dealer demand for fill-ins exceeds forecast planning, there is no way for NBH to meet every dealer's demand on fill-ins. Add in material acquisitions, scheduling factory production time, shipping from the other side of the world and the relatively short selling season to the mix for fill-in product. Finally, add the 800 lb gorilla(or is it Monkey?) in the room, that is eating up skates and protective for his own consumption and it is easy to see why there is a shortage of product on fill-ins. Who do you think gets first crack at fill-ins and re-orders? The LHS filling in on 40 pair of Vapor XXXX skates or the gorilla filling in on 400 pair of Vapor XXXX skates? Once the gorilla has less than 75 8-D Vapor XXXX skates in his warehouse, his computer automatically generates a fill-in purchase order for the next 200 pair +. While the LHS buyer is still in the stock room taking inventory, the gorilla has his product ordered, packed, and on its way to his warehouse. It is not just about building new product for fill-in orders and forecasting. This business is changing at warp speeds in ways you cannot imagine.