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?