Pure Hockey gone ?

[ct87 0]

Rumors have it that this New England chain is packing it in and going out of business. Can anybody out there verify ???? Stores are not stocked with any new stuff.

[chippa13 1844]

They are being taken over by Breakaway Hockey. As far as I've heard the Pure Hockey name will remain but they will be closing one or two locations.

[stick9 903]

They are being taken over by Breakaway Hockey. As far as I've heard the Pure Hockey name will remain but they will be closing one or two locations.

Heard the same from a former employee.

Sucks, I've been loyal to Pure hockey since they opened. Really haven't bought anything anywhere else since. The staff and owner always treated me excellent. Never really gave me a reason to go anywhere else. Not sure that loyalty will continue now that it's under new ownership.

Bill (owner) is a great guy. Bummed to hear how things went down.

[AnthonyJTa 0]

Eh... I've grown accustomed to a great retailer opening up in Massachusetts, then closing shop on me. haha....They can't even keep MVP Sports/Decathalons open around here.

I remember the old M&M Sports in Hanover/Plymouth MA had wonderful selections.. closed. Sport-About in Hingham, MA was one of the greatest shops I had seen... closed up (actually moved to another part of the South Shore, but now they have a limited selection)... The Penalty Box in Weymouth- greatest guy in the world running the place, always super helpful with my sharpenings and whatnot- he's moved onto bigger/better things.

It may have been in the works before hand, but I had a bad feeling when Pure Hockey tried to branch out into general sporting goods and that shop closed months later.

[Doctor Hook 0]

I liked their stores, but maybe also because I just love looking at hockey gear live.

[ct87 0]

Customer service was never a strong point. Expansion and renovation of stores must have killed them.

[AnthonyJTa 0]

Customer service was never a strong point. Expansion and renovation of stores must have killed them.

+1 on the customer service tip.... yeah, moving the Braintree location to a bigger store, only to accommodate less stuff didn't make much sense.

[chippa13 1844]

The Nashua store move wasn't that great an idea, either. Sure, it was right around the corner from the rink but just out of the way enough that if you didn't know it was there you would never find it.

[Joe081484 0]

The Nashua store move wasn't that great an idea, either. Sure, it was right around the corner from the rink but just out of the way enough that if you didn't know it was there you would never find it.

Kind of like the two braintree locations? Either one was a poor choice IMO, the back of a building and tucked all the way up Wood rd?

[jimmy 194]

In today's hockey climate, you can't make a profit by carrying every brand, every model, because the f'n manufacturers keep on coming out with new models every year, or every 6 months. They do not give you time to sell what you have before the new stuff comes out. I think that was PH's downfall. I'm just a small store and I barely survive because I do NOT carry every brand. A place like PH who carried everything, just couldn't move enough to make a profit in the short time given to sell before the new models were announced. You just can't operate a hockey store like years ago. You now have to be very selective on what and how much you carry. I saw the writing on the wall, that's why my bookink amounts were way less this year than last. I really don't like getting stuck with 10's of thousand of dollars of worthless equipment when the new stuff comes out. If a great store like PH and a big chain like them goes under, what do you think the future holds? As AnthonyTJ says, stores are closing, and the reason is...

[AnthonyJTa 0]

... well now that you mention it, a handful of the stores I mentioned in my previous post carried everything. Sport-About in their original location, forget it. They made it for hockey, they carried it... While that place was like a candy store to me back in the day (I got my first UltraLite there, A/C's, and even my Koho Vector shafts)

Majority of the smaller mom & pop stores, are Vaughn, Brians dealers.... but they custom order. They don't have 46 different custom color combos in the new Velocity pad..... JUST to sit there.

[DarkStar50 679]

I used to hear from all the parents after coming back from a Massachusetts tourney about PH and their huge selection of gear and sticks. The visual appeal of all the gear is great for the consumer but I wonder just when it hit the owners at PH that this formula wasn't actually going to work in terms of running a successful long term business. This formula may be able to fly in select locales in Canada and the US but not everywhere, not these days. The dynamics of being successful in this business change every season. No one formula works for ever for very long. PH learned the hard way, RIP.

[Chadd 916]

I remember having parents come back from tournaments and road trips with skates from pure hockey that were completely screwed up. Having so many stores and no website was a major screw up on their part. If you're going to carry that much inventory at least give yourself a chance to move some of it online.

[Kevin 5]

As others have posted, customer service was Pure Hockey’s Achilles’ heel. Whenever I went to one of its stores, most of the salespeople were high school kids working part-time. I recently bought a stick at the Medford store, and the three boys working the floor never asked if I needed any help—they were too busy with horseplay; I was the only customer in the store. It’s a big difference from Sports Etc., which has long time employees and a clearly defined customer service system (take a number, like a deli) when the store is busy.

[stick9 903]

It may have been in the works before hand, but I had a bad feeling when Pure Hockey tried to branch out into general sporting goods and that shop closed months later.

From what I am told that was what did it.

Never really had a problem with customer service, but only shopped at one location. Then again, I knew quite a few people who worked there and when I came in they would come out and help me.

[jptwofive 0]

Hey, i had not heard PH was going through this. I was never impressed with the customer service. When they moved to the new braintree location, you could hear the kids in the back running around goofing off while people were out front. Breakaway has always given me much better service, so it'll be interesting how things will shake out.

Personally, i think the manufacturers are the ones that are making it tough for the LHS to exist. Much like golf gear, every manufacturer has to come out with their "new" line every year to get kids buying it. That shafts (no pun intended) the LHS when they have "x" amount of last years models. Look at the 9k. Breakaway had to drastically reduce the price of the black models when the whites were available as they needed to turn that inventory. Now could a shop theoretically take custom orders for gear and have them shipped in when necessary? Sure they could, but how many of the major manu's want to have that headache of multiple purchase orders when they can simply insist that a store have to bring in a certain level of stock before they pull the line? Honestly, what type of gear does everyone need immediately? Sticks when they break? OK, i can see that, but if a parent knows his kid needs skates, has anyone here just realized one day their skates were broken down and needed a new pair by the next days practice? The combination of constantly updating the product lines and forcing shops to carry a "full" inventory basically screw he shops.

Now, i think PH had the equipment distribution deal for Hockey Eastm which is nice. A place like Kemp's in Latham NY has a tiny shop, but pretty well stocked and then they survive with being the supplier for college squads too.

I hope Breakaway can manage the growth, although Breakaway became poplar when PH got too big. Now with PH gone, what will be the next hockey entity to fill the role of underdog and then eventually succeed Breakaway?

[JJ Thompson94 0]

I remember having parents come back from tournaments and road trips with skates from pure hockey that were completely screwed up. Having so many stores and no website was a major screw up on their part. If you're going to carry that much inventory at least give yourself a chance to move some of it online.

It's very true, it's time for companies to start embracing the digital age. PH is still a small business but they needed to have a site to sell some inventory. I've heard of pure hockey for a few years and as I live in NY, i've never been to one, had they had a normal site, i'd buy things from them.

Opening a site needs to be considered as opening a new store. The cost of creating the site can get pretty expensive and the cost to maintain it, however, at the end of the day it would sell worldwide and cost less than a store. When are companies going to learn, your never to small for a good website in 2008.

[ddbowdoin 0]

It'll be interesting to see how the two fuse into a single entity. PH had somewhat of a strong selection whereas Breakaway provided great service but their inventory was a bit weak.

One thing that I hate about breakaway is their refusal to stock wide skates. They can certaintly be ordered but it helps to have pairs in stock.

+1 for being annoyed with kids working at PH. I used to purposefully ask them questions I'd know the answer to and they'd feed me bullshit all day. "Yeah Vapors are the widest skate NBH makes"

just an example

[JR Boucicaut 3805]

PH just wasn't doing very well. They weren't buying smart - they were going for the "wow" factor by having 20 different colors of the same product.

I'm not from MA but I knew this was happening for a few months. Will leave it at that.

[chippa13 1844]

I heard one of the biggest nails in the PH coffin was a change in how Easton was managing their accounts.

The LHS that does the best is usually the one that buys like 4 colors, black and the colors of the closest 3 local towns.

[ag12 0]

As others have posted, customer service was Pure Hockey’s Achilles’ heel. Whenever I went to one of its stores, most of the salespeople were high school kids working part-time. I recently bought a stick at the Medford store, and the three boys working the floor never asked if I needed any help—they were too busy with horseplay; I was the only customer in the store. It’s a big difference from Sports Etc., which has long time employees and a clearly defined customer service system (take a number, like a deli) when the store is busy.

I've had the same experience. I'm not surprised by it's demise.... Sports Etc. and Zwickers are the places to go around here.

[Doctor Hook 0]

I think Sports Etc. is wicked overpriced and I wasn't impressed with the attitudinal grumpy grampa ringing me up. There's a great little hole in the wall sporting good store in Arlington called Holovak (sp?) and they're located off Mass Av on Mill St. Good prices, decent selection, good peeps.

[Joe081484 0]

I can't say I am looking forward to Breakaway taking over, I visited their store for the first time last week to pick up some tape, bought two rolls of clear, kid says "that'll be 7.50", little bit pricey if you ask me.

[jbgordon 0]

I think Sports Etc. is wicked overpriced and I wasn't impressed with the attitudinal grumpy grampa ringing me up. There's a great little hole in the wall sporting good store in Arlington called Holovak (sp?) and they're located off Mass Av on Mill St. Good prices, decent selection, good peeps.

I agree with what was said about Sports Etc. They are definitely overpriced except for skates which seem to be about normal. They do a so-so job of sharpening (best that I can find in the area) and the dude at checkout is quite grumpy and unfriendly. I've been going there consistently for 3 years and the guy is still as grumpy with me as day 1...strange man. I went to Holovak once and they butchered my skates. I will never go back.

[ag12 0]

I think Sports Etc. is wicked overpriced and I wasn't impressed with the attitudinal grumpy grampa ringing me up. There's a great little hole in the wall sporting good store in Arlington called Holovak (sp?) and they're located off Mass Av on Mill St. Good prices, decent selection, good peeps.

I agree with what was said about Sports Etc. They are definitely overpriced except for skates which seem to be about normal. They do a so-so job of sharpening (best that I can find in the area) and the dude at checkout is quite grumpy and unfriendly. I've been going there consistently for 3 years and the guy is still as grumpy with me as day 1...strange man. I went to Holovak once and they butchered my skates. I will never go back.

Good point about the grumpy guy, I forgot about him. I guess I do agree that that they are a bit overpriced, but a good place for skates. I do think they use a machine to sharpen skates, which probably is the reason for a so-so sharpening. I've heard about Holovak but never been in there, I may have to check it out.