Inglasco / Sherwood Layoffs

[black296tuuk 3]

I am not sure if this is where you would want this, but I just found this on Yahoo.

Puck-maker cuts staff in half as NHL lockout drags into fifth month

LES PERREAUX

January 16, 2005

QUEBEC (CP) - The NHL's official puck supplier has laid off half its staff as the economic impact of the hockey lockout reaches equipment and souvenir manufacturers.

After suffering through a terrible Christmas season, InGlasCo, of Sherbrooke, Que., laid off 20 of about 40 employees from a plant that normally produces about 300,000 pucks along with souvenirs for the 30 NHL teams.

"The business has been down since September, we haven't shipped anything to any NHL teams, no souvenir or licensed products," said Denis Drolet, president of Groupe Drolet, the parent company of InGlasCo and the Sher-Wood stick manufacturer.

"We sell to teams, we sell to the retail side," he said in a recent interview.

"Retailers have no reason to buy NHL product. They have no interest and no demand for it."

Drolet said the remaining half of his staff at the Sherbrooke InGlasCo plant are busy making pucks and souvenirs for minor and junior league teams that make up the other half of the company's business. The plant also makes promotional water bottles, key chains and mini hockey sticks.

The National Hockey League labour dispute is stretching into a fifth month with no settlement in sight.

With no talks between the league and players since Dec. 14, most hockey observers say the 2005 season is lost along with millions of dollars in revenue at arenas, sports bars and souvenir shops.

Manufacturers of equipment such as sticks and skates say their orders are slowing down as small sporting-goods stores deal with a cash crunch and unwanted NHL souvenirs.

"We have seen some impact because our retailers are sitting on licensed inventory they are trying to move through so they can buy in other elements in the business," said Randy Burns, marketing director at Montreal-based Mission-Itech Hockey.

But the slowdown for equipment makers is slight, Burns said, because thousands of amateur players still need new skates, helmets and shoulder pads.

"Kids and adults are still playing hockey, there hasn't been a slowdown or decline in the growth of the sport," he said.

"We may see that (slowdown) reflected in the future in registration in North America, but right now it's premature to suggest that."

Burns said the loss of marketing opportunities through NHL players is having a bigger immediate impact on equipment makers.

A series of big hockey equipment trade fairs are coming up and new products are not creating much buzz without the NHL.

"For the entire hockey industry, any 2005 product launch has not had the same impact because we don't have NHL players wearing them," Burns said.

The Drolet Group said its stick manufacturing arm, Sher-Wood, should survive the storm unscathed.

"It doesn't affect Sher-Wood much," Drolet said. "There are only 700-some players in the NHL. Everybody thinks that with the NHL on strike, everybody stops living."

[Crescent Fresh 0]

Not directly related, but Sherwood took a hit from thier deal with the Central Hockey League. Before the season they signed a deal in which Sherwood was supposed to be the exclusive supplier of sticks to the CHL.

As someone who is at a certain teams home games quite often (you can guess who), I noticed a lot of guys (around 75%) had Sherwood sticks the first few weeks, then they all went back to thier Eastons. The players hated the Sherwood sticks and I think only two guys on the team still use them. I don't blame them, the Sherwood sticks are crap. There isn't even a link to Sherwood that I can find on www.centralhockeyleague.com. There used to be links all over the site. I am guessing that partnership is long gone at this point and Sherwood is out that much more on the sales side.

[seanmccann 3]

There isn't even a link to Sherwood that I can find on www.centralhockeyleague.com.

http://www.centralhockeyleague.com/multime...limit=6&id=2575

Big huge one on the top of lots of pages. It is too bad about the layoffs.

[Reaper 0]

The players hated the Sherwood sticks and I think only two guys on the team still use them. I don't blame them, the Sherwood sticks are crap.

Sherwood sticks are crap? Yeah, that's why the Sherwood 5030 is the best selling stick in the world...

[Chadd 916]

That's because it was a good cheap wood stick.

[Dan_The_Man_16 0]

I think they easily have the best wood sticks, the only one that comes close is the Bauer 3030. They bomb with shafts and OPS though.

[Crescent Fresh 0]

I guess I should clarify that the composite shafts & one-pieces are crap (IMHO). The wooodies are great, but few pro players still use wood sticks, especially guys under 30 years old.

I still haven't run across a Sherwood ad. I guess I need to pay more attention while surfing the site!

[mickz 107]

Anyone try the Sherwood 9030 before? I don't own one but I tried one out the other day and it doesn't seem too bad for a wood stick.