MLX Skates bought By EASTON Good thing or not?

[romdj 26]

Open,

I think that's not a bad think actually, because I absolutely love the skates, and I absolutely didn't want them to shut down. So yes, I just hope that they'll manage to do it well.

Let me know your opinions!

[twolinepass 0]

This is probably the end of the handmade skates..

But this is a cool title

Dave Cruikshank, four-time Olympian speed skater and founder of MLX, has joined the Easton Speed Institute as Chief of Speed

[jimmy 194]

Yes, it's a good thing. More money into research and development, better distribution of the product, easier purchasing for the customer, and likely better pricing.

[kenneth 5]

Yes, it's a good thing. More money into research and development, better distribution of the product, easier purchasing for the customer, and likely better pricing.

+1 good for the end user forsure now i can try the skates, only bad is production will move from Winnipeg to China.

[shoeshine boy 246]

I hope it's good but fear it's not. hopefully they'll listen to the users and keep what makes the skater uber-comfortable on the ice.

[JR Boucicaut 3805]

Dave was probably just hired as Skate Product Manager. Chris Norqual is no longer at Easton.

[romdj 26]

I think the easton skate had to look for new directions and that the mlx skate gave them a way to go.If they manage to make it happen well they might come up with very interesting products out there since easton is already a leader in the stick industry, let's see how it makes skates happen.

[danno25nh 3]

I'm not convinced the handmade vs machine made thing will be an issue. Unfortunately the piece I like (aside from the comfort) was the customer service.

There's no way to keep that level of service as part of Easton.

[shooter27 117]

I wonder if Mario turned a profit on his MLX investment?

[DarkStar50 679]

I doubt it.

[JR Boucicaut 3805]

Dave isn't a product manager; they are still looking for one.

[DEATHTRON 19]

Interesting, I thought Easton had a good carbon skate offering right now, wonder what they saw in MLX. Can anyone shed some light?

I Really think Easton should build an ultra light carbon skate, that will have an expected lifespan of 1 season, and price it around $325 or so. I know that skates always have huge markup, but imagine how many more pairs of skates Easton would move, gaining more market share in the process. The customer just needs to understand what is going to be happening, hell maybe even throw in a rebate for sending you skates back in to be recycled. Just my personal thoughts.

Zach

[mhkehoe 1]

I really don't understand this deal at all unless they did research that showed that the majority of purchasers of MLX skates would have otherwise prefered Easton.

It would be tough for Easton to maintain the customer service that was MLX's big perk, and I don't believe the technology was that different from what they currently offer.

Only other idea I have is that many MLX had a new technology that is unreleased and it was shopped around to the major guys so the investors could get some money out of the company.

[Chadd 916]

Dave Cruikshank, four-time Olympian speed skater and founder of MLX, has joined the Easton Speed Institute as Chief of Speed

A number of guys have trained with him in the off season, that may help get their skates on the feet of those pros. I'm just curious who they hire as the director of weed. Personally, I would suggest this guy:

[wrangler 157]

So many comments come to mind.

[DEATHTRON 19]

I dont think it's impossible. I know the markup is not much, and I do not know what the current skates cost to manufacture, but I remember that I was able to get the 1300c's for something like 200 or 250 from Easton when I worked at a shop. Take Price up over $100 on top of that, and watch the sales come in. People are getting a high performance skate that live a season, and 2 pairs costs less than a top end pair of skates from Bauer. For me it's a no brainer, but what do I know.

Zach

[AIREAYE 248]

Easton already had reputation issues with the S15s' durability. The LIGHTEST skate ever put out there, carbon based and for many people, they lasted a season or less. Another venture down that path again, even at that price, will bring Easton way down IMO.

Another problem is that if they put out a 'top-end' skate at $325, consumers won't look at it compared to other top-end skates...they'll compare it to other $325 skates. Why spend $700+ when you can spend $325?

[JR Boucicaut 3805]

You got skates for $200 because all manufacturers do that - get the people into their skates so that they can sell them better.

Has no bearing on this conversation really.