Reebok Acquisition of Major Hockey Equipment Manufacturer Pits it Against Nike Again
The lockout of professional ice hockey players by the National Hockey League is having a profound effect on the sport. One example of this is how little attention was paid to 'Reebok's acquisition of The Hockey Company, that took place in June.
As Terri Frei pointed out on ESPN.com, Reebok and Nike are now facing off in hockey for the first time, with Nike in control of the Bauer, Nike, and Cooper brands, and Reebok owning CCM, Jofa, and Koho.
Is such a rollup of brand names into two companies a good thing? Here's what I said to my friend and fellow hockey official, Bill Bredin:
I am more interested in whether this acquisition is good for the entire sport. Most of the equipment I buy and use is significantly better than its equivalent of four or five years ago, but I don't know if what the manufacturers are charging for things like sticks is justified.
After finally buying a new helmet at the beginning of this season, I'd say that hockey players and officials don't have enough choice in this area, especially if you have a larger than average head. When you compare our choices to those of the serious amateur cyclist, I feel like we are significantly behind.
Anyone care to offer an opinion about whether Reebok will bring more useful innovation to the hockey equipment market, or will they make the same mistakes that Nike did and set back improvement of their protective equipment and skate lines by offering ground-breaking but flawed designs?
Comments
I have a hockey equipment fettish. I love to buy and use hockey gear. I play in several leagues in both the ice and inline arenas. I believe that it won't be reebok that will make any real ground breaking improvements as far as equipment is concerned. (especially sticks) skates on the other hand i am curious. i have never really fully trusted nike (brand) equipment. I usually go with the more well known manufacturers like CCM, Easton, Mission, and Bauer. (yes i know that nike owns bauer and reebok ownes CCM) But like you said hockey is different we are not going to wear our skates out and about. it is strictly a performance thang. To summerize i would give reebok a couple of years in the hockey world before i even consider wearing their skates or shoot with their stick. these composite sticks cost too much to take a chance on an unproven manufacturer.
Posted by: Chris | December 21, 2004 2:50 PM
i heard they have som nice new goalie gear. i haven't been able to find much information on it though. I hope they keep in the reasonable price point though as Eagle has done so well. Eagle is used by many Pros and it retails from about $1100 CAD to $1400 for a set of leg pads. Compare this to Vaughn, Bauer and Louisville who are charging as much as $1800. Nobody can afford to pay that much for a set of pads every couple of years. Hopefully they can cater to those players in mens leagues that will use their over a longer term than the pros.
Posted by: bid dog | January 9, 2005 8:25 PM