Final Thoughts

    This last post will conclude my blog showing how the companies Bauer and Easton Hockey affect the economy and the differences between the two. I have had the privilege to be able to use equipment from both companies and have seen many differences in ad campaigns, and the quality in the gear. Also being a hockey player you travel too different parts of the world and see countless hockey players and the gear they use. Even from when I was a little kid Bauer always exceeded Easton and any other hockey company there is. I have seen players from Canada, U.S. and Europe all using Bauer equipment. This is not to knock Easton Hockey because they are also a great competitive company but they do not sell or promote as well as the Bauer Company. I use Bauer sticks, skates, gloves and helmets and don’t think I will ever leave the Bauer family. Their gear fits the way I play and it is what I am accustomed too. Although Bauer can be a little pricey it has been worth it and without Bauer I wouldn’t be where I am at today in my hockey career.
Websites
http://www.bauer.com/ 

Citations:
Bauer - Bauer.com Home. Web. 15 May 2011. <http://www.bauer.com/>.

Revenue Competition

    Now that I have introduced you to both companies and shown you their sales, advertising pitches, and employee jobs, we have to look at the revenue differences between the top 2 products of both companies. Starting with Bauer the two top selling products for Bauer are the Vapor X60 skate that sells for $719.99 and the Vapor X60 stick that sells for $219.99. Easton hockey has two great selling products in the Synergy EQ50 skates that sell for $634.99 and the Stealth S19 stick that sells for $299.99. Every company in the hockey world always has 2-3 products well above the rest of the products they sell. Bauer and Easton are both very high-end companies, which is why their high end products sell for a little bit larger of a price than other company’s top products. In the end it’s concluded that Bauer is an overall much popular company through the word of mouth, ads, product revenue, and the selling of products. There are a much higher percentage of players in professional hockey that use Bauer over Easton hockey.
Websites
http://www.hockeymonkey.com/  

Citations
HockeyMonkey.com. Web. 15 May 2011. <http://www.hockeymonkey.com/>.

Jobs with Easton

    Being a mult-sport company requires that there are more workers in the Easton Bell Sports family. The headquarters for Easton is located in Van Nuys, California, which is where all the endorsing deals and business side of the company is done. Easton Sports has around 500 listed employees, and some of them are in the manufacturing factory in Canada, which was opened up in 1986. Their testament to such good products is that 80 years of good manufacturing is a result of constantly innovating their products and the commitment of their great employees around North America.
Websites

http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Easton-Sports-Inc-Company-History.html 

Citations
"Easton Sports, Inc. -- Company History." Find Funding with Banks, Investors, and Other Funding Sources | FundingUniverse. Web. 15 May 2011. <http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Easton-Sports-Inc-Company-History.html>.

Advertising Easton

    In the hockey world there is always competition between companies on advertising gigs. Each company advertises through the same forms of advertisement; T.V. commercials, ads in hockey rinks, player sponsorships etc. Advertising equipment especially to the youth players out there has a lot more to do with which of their favorite professional players are wearing it. Easton has a great line of players promoting their gear for them. Easton is a quality company who is able to fund a lot of money into advertising. They have leaned more towards a T.V. commercial like approach knowing that’s what kids and young adults watch most. They have used a variety of their professional players to do TV ads for them especially for when their new line of Easton Stealth sticks and skates came out onto the market. The key mark in time that kicked off Easton hockey was the signing of arguably the greatest hockey player to ever live, Wayne Gretzky, to an endorsement deal in 1990.
Websites
http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Easton-Sports-Inc-Company-History.html  
Videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yZotho4GlA 
Citations
"Easton Sports, Inc. -- Company History." Find Funding with Banks, Investors, and Other Funding Sources | FundingUniverse. Web. 15 May 2011. <http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Easton-Sports-Inc-Company-History.html>.

Sales of Easton

    Every Company is only known for the quality of their equipment. Each and every company is always coming out with new products each year to try and top past years products and the best products of other companies due to economic competition also known as perfect competition, which is a market structure in which there are many buyers and sellers, the product is standardized, and buyers can easily enter or exit the market. Just like Bauer, Easton also has two branches or lines within the Easton name. They are called Stealth and Synergy. Some of the gear that is sold today with their market value prices is as follows
Easton Synergy
Synergy EQ50 Skates-$634.99
Synergy EQ40 Skates-$419.99
Synergy EQ5 Skates-$659.99
Synergy EQ30 Skates-$239.99
Synergy EQ50 Stick-$249.99
Synergy EQ40 Stick-$189.99
Easton Stealth
Stealth S17 Skates-$699.99
Stealth S17 LE Skates-$699.99
Stealth S12 Skates-$449.99
Stealth SE16 Skates-$539.99
Stealth S19 Stick-$299.99

As of 2003 Easton sports has made $187.6 million. Jim Easton told the news in 1991 that Easton’s plan was, “Our strategy is to have a performance product first, to break in the sport and get a reputation. And once you've got that, then you can bring out other good quality products. Otherwise, you're in a commodity business, and you're just trying to sell by price."
Websites
http://www.hockeymonkey.com/onepiecesticks-easton-sr.html  
http://www.hockeymonkey.com/iceskates-easton-sr.html 
Videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ba3qpChmrw&feature=related
http://www.reliableplant.com/View/16044/how-easton-manufactures-hockey-sticks 
Citations
"Easton Stealth S19, Synergy EQ - Senior One-Piece Hockey Sticks." Hockey Equipment & Gear | Hockey Sticks & Skates | Ice Hockey Helmets & Gloves | HockeyMonkey.com. Web. 15 May 2011. <http://www.hockeymonkey.com/onepiecesticks-easton-sr.html>.

"Easton Sr. Ice Hockey Skates." Hockey Equipment & Gear | Hockey Sticks & Skates | Ice Hockey Helmets & Gloves | HockeyMonkey.com. Web. 15 May 2011. <http://www.hockeymonkey.com/iceskates-easton-sr.html>.

Introduce Easton Hockey

    Easton hockey also known as Easton Bell Sports is a multi-sport private company for hockey, baseball, football and more. It is known as one of the leading designer, developer and marketer of branded equipment that enhances athletic performance and protection. Doug Easton founded the company in 1922, but died in 1972 and was replaced by his son James, but Easton Hockey has only been in existence for around 20 years. Although their more popular products are sticks and helmets, they also produce gloves, hockey pants, elbow pads, shoulder pads, shin guards and under-garment apparel. Easton is one of the worldwide leaders in branded sports equipment and accessories In 2006, Easton Sports, Bell Sports and Riddell Sports Group were brought together to form Easton-Bell Sports, Inc. Easton Bell now has 31 offices and has had a combined sales in excess of $750 million. Easton-Bell Sports has established itself as a leader in designing, developing and marketing performance sports equipment and a broad spectrum of accessories across athletic and recreational activities. The Easton-Bell Sports Company includes industry-leading brands that consist of Easton, Riddell, Bell and Giro. Easton has made huge strides in the hockey world with NHL players and junior and college level players as well. The new innovative technology used to produce some of the equipment especially the hockey sticks has given Easton its name around the NHL.
    Along with Bauer, Easton has a significant amount of NHL players who promote
Easton Hockey including Mike Cammallerri, Zach Parise, Marian Gaborik, Ryan Getzlaf, Zdeno Chara, Dany Heatley and more.
Websites
http://www.eastonbellsports.com/easton-fact-sheet 
http://eastonhockey.com/ 
Videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8bOwa1hB2w 
Citations
"Easton Fact Sheet « Easton Bell Sports." Easton Bell Sports. Web. 15 May 2011. <http://www.eastonbellsports.com/easton-fact-sheet>.
Easton Hockey. Web. 15 May 2011. <http://eastonhockey.com/>.
 

Jobs with Bauer

    The Bauer Hockey headquarters is located in Greenland, New Hampshire, this is where the business side of the job is done like hiring new clients, taking care of sponsorships and can even sometimes be used as a place to shoot pictures for advertising. Bauer is a Canadian based company so the manufacturing of the equipment is all done in the Canadian based manufacturing stations. Bauer has two factories for producing equipment. One in St. Jerome, Quebec and the other one is in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. During the Nike Era some of the equipment was also produced in Asia at the Nike factory. Bauer has about 800+ workers from graphic designers to the factory workers to the CEO of Bauer, which is Kevin Davis. In a recent interview Kevin was asked “What role do equipment makers play in the game of hockey today?” He answered with, “We have a big responsibility, as do other constituents with that particular injury. This is not a new injury in sports, but what is new is the recognition and the treatment of the injury. When we understand the things that drive the injury, it’s a much better formula for the manufacturers to work together with the medical community to find the best protection we can make. But it is not one thing. The equipment made today is designed to either prevent an injury or improve performance, but there are a lot of other things like rule changes and the size of the players and the size of the rink that have contributed to the way hockey is played today.” The people that work for Bauer excel at the specific duty they are given to contribute to Bauer and give it the name it has today.
Websites
http://www.bizofhockey.com/?option=com_content&view=article&id=111&Itemid=1 
http://business.financialpost.com/2011/05/04/kevin-davis-ceo-and-president-of-bauer-performance-sports-ltd/ 
Videos
http://www.bauer.com/videos/bauerextras/8121-BAUER  

http://www.bauer.com/videos/bauerextras/8116-BAUER 

Citations
Holloway, Andy. "Kevin Davis: CEO and President of Bauer Performance Sports Ltd. |
Financial Post Magazine | Financial Post." 4 May 2011. Web. 15 May 2011. <http://business.financialpost.com/2011/05/04/kevin-davis-ceo-and-president-of-bauer-performance-sports-ltd/>.
 
Brown, Maury. "The Biz of Hockey :: Business of Sports Network." The Biz of Hockey :: The Business of Sports Network. 17 Apr. 2008. Web. 15 May 2011. <http://www.bizofhockey.com/?option=com_content>. 

Advertising Bauer

    The fun part about selling such quality equipment is the opportunity the different companies are given to advertise the newest gear that is coming out onto the market. Since Bauer is such a popular company around the world and is sold in about 35 different countries they are given the opportunity to advertise the company in numerous amounts of ways in many different kinds of venues.  During the Nike Era, Nike used its global marketing expertise to help promote all of Bauer’s Products. Some of the different forms of advertising for Bauer are through hockey magazines, NHL player sponsorships, College and Major Junior hockey team sponsorships, Ads on hockey rink boards, television commercials, etc. A personal experience with the advertising of Bauer was a youth hockey tournament that was sponsored by Bauer called the Nike Bauer Invitational Tournament held in Chicago Illinois. I remembering getting free t-shirts hats and bags all from the Bauer Co. Advertising increases profits and makes the prices of skates less elastic. Kids want to wear the same skates their “heroes” are wearing and let the people know about the latest innovations of the company.

Websites
www.washjeff.edu/users/jgregor/ECN%20101/Student%20PPP/.../Baur.ppt 
Bauer Hockey Powerpoint
Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhZbH4koWSE 
Citations
www.washjeff.edu/users/jgregor/ECN%20101/Student%20PPP/.../Baur.ppt
(Unable to cite because it’s a link to a power point)
 

Sales of Bauer

    The thing that makes Bauer as well as it is, is the equipment it produces. Everyone in the hockey world knows that Bauer does a superb job in advertising their products by getting some of the best players in the world to promote it. By being able to advertise their gear this way, they also have a responsibility in giving the people some of the best quality gear on the market. Bauer is broken up into two branches called Bauer Vapor and Bauer Supreme. They make high end gear for both branches but both branches have a different feel for whichever kind of player you are. In selling their gear, a part of their advertising to sell the gear was a slogan that said, “Which player are you?” This slogan kicked off the two different lines. Some of the gear that are sold today from the two lines with their market prices are as follows:
Bauer Vapor                     
APX skates-$959.99           
X60 Skates-$719.99           
X50 Skates-$569.99        
X40 Skates-$359.99           
X60 Stick-$249.99            
Bauer Supreme
Supreme Total One Skates-$949.99
Supreme One100 Skates-$719.99
Supreme One80 Skates-$479.99
Supreme One70 Skates-$359.99
Supreme Total One stick-$274.99
Supreme One 100 Stick-$229.99
Supreme One 95-$209.99
On Bauer now the vapor line is labeled as “Pure Touch” and the supreme line is labeled as “Pure Power” Bauer says it wants to increase revenue faster than the industry average through a combination of market share gains and acquisitions. It says it also expects to increase profit faster than revenue. “Expansion in the hockey market may not be a smooth road for Bauer,” said Bob Stellick of sports marketing firm Stellick Marketing Communications.
“Outside of Canada and the United States, what are the opportunities to grow the game of hockey? I wouldn't say it has growth potential like basketball or soccer. It's a strong niche sport."
Websites
http://www.hockeymonkey.com/
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/11/us-bauer-interview-idUSTRE72A6Y320110311?feedType=RSS
Videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CORcK2TIQFA
Citations
HockeyMonkey.com. Web. 15 May 2011. <http://www.hockeymonkey.com/>.
Jordan, Pav, and S. John Tilak. "Newly Public Bauer Eyes Markets beyond Ice Hockey
| Reuters." Business & Financial News, Breaking US & International News | Reuters.com. 11 Mar. 2011. Web. 15 May 2011. <http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/11/us-bauer-interview-idUSTRE72A6Y320110311?feedType=RSS>.
 

Introducing Bauer

    Bauer hockey has been one of the leading manufacturers for hockey equipment and apparel over the last decade or so. The company was founded in 1927 in Kitchener, Ontario by the Bauer company who were the owners of the Western Shoe Co. Originally Bauer solely made its profit off of developing skates until they bought the rights to one of the higher end hockey equipment companies at the time in Cooper Canada Ltd. In 1995 Bauer was then bought by Nike, then giving it the name Nike Bauer. The Nike Bauer era lasted from 1995 through 2008, and the company was then sold to Roustan Inc and Kohlberg & Co. They were then reverted back to being known as solely Bauer but the Nike Bauer Logo was still put on their equipment all the way through mid-2009. Another rival company called Mission-Itech hockey gear wasn't as popular as Bauer and didn't sell much market equipment except for skates, sticks and goaltender equipment. Mission-Itech found that it would be more profitable to sell the company to Bauer and make the same equipment but put a Bauer insignia on it. Bauer bought the company in September of 2008. More and more stars of the NHL started getting involved with the company through sponsorships and the company started sky-rocketing. The owners of Bauer, Roustan Inc and Kohlberg & Co. bought the Nike Bauer assests for $200 million.
    Bauer is also known for having the highest rate of sponsored players in professional hockey today. Some of the higher end players are Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Steven Stamkos, Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Luke Schenn and countless more. The have testamented to how good of a company Bauer is with hospitality to its players, the quality of gear they make and how good of an overal job it does in the game of hockey.
Websites
http://www.bauer.com/
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Bauer_Hockey
http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/125/125543.html
Videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie_ftcKwnOw
Citations
Forum. "Bauer Hockey: Facts, Discussion Forum, and Encyclopedia Article."
AbsoluteAstronomy.com. 2011. Web. 15 May 2011. <http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Bauer_Hockey>.
 
"Bauer Hockey, Inc. Company Profile - Yahoo! Finance." Top News Archive - Yahoo! Finance. Web. 15 May 2011. <http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/125/125543.html>. 

Bauer - Bauer.com Home. Web. 15 May 2011. <http://www.bauer.com/>.