***OFFICIAL*** Bauer purchasing Mission-Itech

[lampliter87 8]

Stupid question- will there still be separate Mission, Itech, and Bauer brands, or will they be combined/discontinued?

[stick9 896]

Stupid question- will there still be separate Mission, Itech, and Bauer brands, or will they be combined/discontinued?

Or will Bauer adopt any Mission-Itech products and re-brand them? Like RBK did Jofa protective.

[lampliter87 8]

Facial I would assume... goal definitely.

[stick9 896]

It's be funny as hell if the first product released with just Bauer name is actually a re-branded Mission or Itech product. :lol:

[EBondo 233]

This is huge. Coming from a player who has used both Mission, and Bauer and was very pleased with both products, I am very excited to see what's in the future for both of these companies.

[Rags81 0]

This bums me out.

I feel for the employees losing their jobs. I know what they are going through. Tough time now in our economy.

And i love the Mission AGX skates and Fuel Ti sticks.

IMO this is a great loss to the sport. Not all will agree, because some dislike their products. But for the people that fit best in their products, this is a bummer.

[theWB 2]

It's be funny as hell if the first product released with just Bauer name is actually a re-branded Mission or Itech product. :lol:

I'm pretty sure you won't see any changes to equipment until about this time next year so I doubt that would happen. Bauer and Mission/Itech are just about done putting the final touches on their respective equipment lines for next season. There isn't time to rebrand and when it does happen, I believe it will be a gradual process. It won't just be hack and whack with mission.

[Chadd 916]

This bums me out.

I feel for the employees losing their jobs. I know what they are going through. Tough time now in our economy.

And i love the Mission AGX skates and Fuel Ti sticks.

IMO this is a great loss to the sport. Not all will agree, because some dislike their products. But for the people that fit best in their products, this is a bummer.

The bigger loss was when Mission and Itech merged. Mission went from an innovator to a copier.

[Hoffer 0]

Jr in your one post you said Bauer now become number 1 in roller. How come their is no mention of it in the press release? Will they still be focusing on Roller as much as mission has in the past?

[Chadd 916]

It's be funny as hell if the first product released with just Bauer name is actually a re-branded Mission or Itech product. :lol:

I'm pretty sure you won't see any changes to equipment until about this time next year so I doubt that would happen. Bauer and Mission/Itech are just about done putting the final touches on their respective equipment lines for next season. There isn't time to rebrand and when it does happen, I believe it will be a gradual process. It won't just be hack and whack with mission.

The question is if they will at least allow their dealers to sell through before dumping the product on the online warehouses.

Jr in your one post you said Bauer now become number 1 in roller. How come their is no mention of it in the press release? Will they still be focusing on Roller as much as mission has in the past?

Press release was geared to Canada, inline is an afterthought there.

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

This bums me out.

I feel for the employees losing their jobs. I know what they are going through. Tough time now in our economy.

And i love the Mission AGX skates and Fuel Ti sticks.

IMO this is a great loss to the sport. Not all will agree, because some dislike their products. But for the people that fit best in their products, this is a bummer.

I really hate to burst your bubble, but the AGX skate was on its way out anyway. Only one skate was set to carry over from Fuel next year and it wasn't that.

Jr in your one post you said Bauer now become number 1 in roller. How come their is no mention of it in the press release? Will they still be focusing on Roller as much as mission has in the past?

Read between the lines...I distinctly put "Bauer's PARENT COMPANY."

[Rags81 0]

This bums me out.

I feel for the employees losing their jobs. I know what they are going through. Tough time now in our economy.

And i love the Mission AGX skates and Fuel Ti sticks.

IMO this is a great loss to the sport. Not all will agree, because some dislike their products. But for the people that fit best in their products, this is a bummer.

The bigger loss was when Mission and Itech merged. Mission went from an innovator to a copier.

C'mon, Mission's products are good.

The point is that a good product was out there. And the Mission products fit me well.

I went through so many skates until i found the ones that fit best. Same with sticks, i went through a lot to find what fit me best. And, now they will no longer be made. It sucks.

No one wins on this one. Bauer may have grown "stronger" but who loses is the little guy again. The employees and the customers.

[chikinpotpie 137]

Just think of all of the poor athletes that are going to lose sponsorship because of the merger......wonder which ones will get the boot from both sides

[Homersonic 7]

Possibly stupid question: does this mean that Mission/Itech's Canadian-made goalie gear via JRZ will be farmed out to overseas manufacturers?

[Chadd 916]

This bums me out.

I feel for the employees losing their jobs. I know what they are going through. Tough time now in our economy.

And i love the Mission AGX skates and Fuel Ti sticks.

IMO this is a great loss to the sport. Not all will agree, because some dislike their products. But for the people that fit best in their products, this is a bummer.

The bigger loss was when Mission and Itech merged. Mission went from an innovator to a copier.

C'mon, Mission's products are good.

The point is that a good product was out there. And the Mission products fit me well.

I went through so many skates until i found the ones that fit best. Same with sticks, i went through a lot to find what fit me best. And, now they will no longer be made. It sucks.

No one wins on this one. Bauer may have grown "stronger" but who loses is the little guy again. The employees and the customers.

If you like them stock up, that's what I did with my XN10s. It's not like any of their products would have been the same within two years anyway. They turn over their entire product line and branding faster than anyone else.

Possibly stupid question: does this mean that Mission/Itech's Canadian-made goalie gear via JRZ will be farmed out to overseas manufacturers?

If one of the reasons they bought Mission-Itech was to get the Itech goalie gear, do you think they will keep it largely intact or revamp it entirely?

[chippa13 1844]

Which I think was one of the biggest reasons why Mission failed to succeed in many facets of the ice game. They never established a line.

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

If you're acting this way now, wait til you hear about what's happening with the brand in your avatar.

[shooter27 116]

C'mon, Mission's products are good.

The point is that a good product was out there. And the Mission products fit me well.

I went through so many skates until i found the ones that fit best. Same with sticks, i went through a lot to find what fit me best. And, now they will no longer be made. It sucks.

No one wins on this one. Bauer may have grown "stronger" but who loses is the little guy again. The employees and the customers.

Just because you don't win here DOES NOT mean no one wins. I feel for the fact that you are losing a product that you like and I feel for the employees that will be cut by the combined company. However, there are many people who win in this instance: 1) The Mission-Itech shareholders - obviously they feel like they got a good deal and JR's earlier comment indicates they were not in financial trouble so my guess is they did pretty nicely for themselves 2) The consumer - We win from the point of view that the combined forces of these two R&D teams (and the ability to combine the best of the best from both) should help spur innovation in product 3) Bauer - They gain market share in areas they are weak and they gain enhanced profit margin which also leads to increased R&D spending in many cases (another win for the consumer).

There are many other people that win in this scenario, those are just 3 examples. So please, stop acting like this is a death knell for the hockey industry, if anything this is progress and capitalism at its highest levels.

[Rustyhole 1]

I went through so many skates until i found the ones that fit best. Same with sticks, i went through a lot to find what fit me best. And, now they will no longer be made. It sucks.

No one wins on this one. Bauer may have grown "stronger" but who loses is the little guy again. The employees and the customers.

just because bauer bought m-i, doesn't mean they will not make a compareable skate (at some point) either in bauer's name or m-i's

if bauer strengthens itself in roller/goal/facial, i don't really see that as making the customer lose (they want bauer anyway!!)

a brand becomes a brand because people typically get what they want (be it value/price/looks/performance whatever)

bauer has shown it can consistantly do this, both before & with Nike. To a lesser degree so has m-i. I have no reason to believe that after Nike and now with Mission-Itech will be any different

go bauer!!! (and m-i)

[Fletch 219]

I hope they keep the Intake around....from what I hear, the Intake 2 is going to be really nice.

[Sparty4 0]

ok... i'm not a huge mission or itech guy so this bauer aquisition doesn't really phase me but the thought of someone messin' with my Eagle gloves gets me a little concerned.

JR you may need to start a new thread and fill us in so we don't all go crazy with speculation.

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

That thread will come up when the time is right.

[Johnny Law 0]

I know this isn't the number one concern for board members or Bauer but it would be nice if this consolidation could free up a little cash for youth programs in non-traditional markets or maybe some kind of entry level gear price drop.

Personally I think you can do hockey for kinda cheap but i know not everyone would agree, what hockey needs in my opinion, is new players from new markets.

[Chadd 916]

I know this isn't the number one concern for board members or Bauer but it would be nice if this consolidation could free up a little cash for youth programs in non-traditional markets or maybe some kind of entry level gear price drop.

Personally I think you can do hockey for kinda cheap but i know not everyone would agree, what hockey needs in my opinion, is new players from new markets.

You want to grow the game, do it via inline. Ice is going to be expensive until rinks can find a way to lower their utility bills.

[Gummer12 134]

No Kiddin..ours is on the low end even at 80K a year, that's just for Electricity...another 10-20K for heat/water