31 replies to this topic

[MikeO]

Not sure how many people noticed in the '13-'14 sightings thread, but a couple of (what I consider) to be big pieces of info were in there.

 

a) the Franchise is being killed off.

b) no more customs

c) non-pro gloves no longer made in Canada.

 

That's a lot to take in at one time for someone who would consider themselves a die-hard of Warrior.  My question is, where do you see them going as a company and how does that affect brand loyalty?  Warrior has obviously grown in popularity over the past six-seven years, both in #'s of NHLrs wearing their gloves, and for non-pros....do we see that start to decline with these changes?

 

The circumstances are very different, but I once remember a company that had the most loyal of followers, both in the NHL and non-pro.  You could (and still can) get custom gloves to various specs.  People loved them, NHLrs were proud to wear them, and once they were bought in 2008 their popularity has dwindled.  I don't know all the insider details of what happened at Eagle after the buyout, but the biggest complaint was their gloves weren't the same after Vaughn bought them.  

 

Do we see the killing of the Franchise and custom gloves, and the movement of production to Asia spell a similar fate?  

 

I'm just throwing that out there, curious to hear people's opinions.  

[GiancarloSFL]

I'm thinking twice about buying from them in the future if this is what they are doing. Would hope smaller companies offer custom gloves to fill in that void. I see it as a show of disloyalty from Warriors behalf, just my 2 cents. 

[ibeck]

Not sure how many people noticed in the '13-'14 sightings thread, but a couple of (what I consider) to be big pieces of info were in there.

a) the Franchise is being killed off.
b) no more customs
c) non-pro gloves no longer made in Canada.

a) A lot of people ripped warrior for not continuing the franchise glove. How do you know the new ax dynasty line isnt going to be as good? I think we all need to just relax, the world isn't being blown up tomorrow.

B) False, custom gloves will be made overseas

I dont really know what you expected here? With all the other major brands making gear overseas, it looks like warrior is trying to stay competitive. If company A charge $50 to make gloves and re- sells them for $200 while company B charges $150 to make and sell for $200, sooner or later company B better adjust or close up shop.

At the end of the day, your 1 pair of custom gloves a year isnt enough to make a company profitable. Out of all the big names Warrior is the last to go overseas. Maybe you should think twice about buying from them because ot certainly looks like they made an effort to deliver high quality american made products while everyone else jumped the country months ago.

People cried when nike/bauer stopped making the xxx lite sticks but all the bauer twigs still fly off the shelf.

[Kovey10]

At the end of the day it's just business and theyre in it to make money.

[MikeO]

I wasn't expecting such a defensive response.  I don't have a vested interest in this either way, and I wasn't implying anything one way or the other.  I took what I've read in other threads and wanted to set the stage for people to offer their opinion.  

 

I completely agree with you on the Franchise/AX1 subject.  People who absolutely love the Franchise (which you must admit, are a lot of people on here) may get over the initial shock of it being replaced with something new.  Maybe they'll try the AX1 and find they love it, maybe they'll complain that it will never be the same as the Franchise was (for example, the Eagle PPF). Who knows, but I've seen companies update their true and trusted product with something new only for it to flop and lose a small section of their brand loyalty (that goes for any product, hockey or not).

 

For customs, I've read: "i can almost guarantee none of you guys will get customs in the future..." via peckmic who usually can be a fairly trusted source for information.

 

And I get the US/Canadian vs. Asian vs. profitability argument, hell, the majority of my equipment was made in Asia....but that is something that matters to a lot of people here.  Having a hybrid approach, say all lines except top of the line, are made in Asia while we have the high end models made in Canada (albeit, at top dollar) can satisfy a lot of people.  Does shipping 100% of retail production overseas vs. 95% have an adverse affect on things?

[ibeck]

I don't work for warrior so I'm not sitting here defending them. I apologize if I was a little strong on my response. I'm just tired of people over reacting for nothing. I don't know peckmic personally but i heard warrior will still be doing some customs but the majority will be taken over seas.

[shoeshine boy]

a month ago the thought of Warrior going overseas would've panicked me. I had a pair of retail Luxes (made overseas) and thought they were horrible. they were so stiff it was like wearing a cardboard box on my hands. then 2 weeks ago I attended a tourney in Chicago and was able to drop into a Total Hockey that had a pair of retail Coverts on the rack. I was very impressed with how they felt on my hands. too bad they were yellow.

[JoeyJ0506]

I had a similar conversation with a close friend that works in the sporting goods industry and makes a truly "American Made" product.  I ran into a situation lately where I needed new product made, and one of my teammates ran around and got quotes from, literally, all corners of the globe on the "same" product.  Well, some incredibly low quotes came back from the other manufacturers that I showed my friend because I thought it was fair and important for him to know what he was up against.

His response, "Joey, I cannot even produce my product for what they are selling their finished product to your for." Unfortunately I was put into a situation where dollars and cents were the only thing driving the decision... loyalty, quality, and friendship could not be factored in.

There is something to be said for keeping business with North American (US/Canada) based companies. I truly believe that the product is better made, has higher quality control, and employees are treated better.  In some, not all, cases foreign products are so much less expensive because corners get cut in all three of those aspects. But, for a company that is trying to milk every cent out of their product it is almost a no-brainer to move their production over-seas.

As someone that has given a large amount of money to Warrior for custom gloves, it is a bit unsettling that this may no longer be an option for me in the very near future. Being able to design my own gloves has always had a very special appeal to me.

I do not think Warrior would kill the Franchise if they did not think they were bringing an equal or superior product to the market. They have a whole other world of problems if that is the way of thinking.

People will always resist change... end of story.

[mjpisat]

How do you know the franchise isn't just being renamed ax1.

[MikeO]

How do you know the franchise isn't just being renamed ax1.

I've seen one pic of the AX1's, and they are different.  They're still a 4-roll, but the index finger padding between the rolls and the thumb protection look a bit different.  Haven't seen it up close to know any real details.  Like I said, people may love them....time will tell.

[MikeO]

Joey, I can kind of relate.  I use to work in the BMX industry and have plenty of friends who own their own respective bike companies (frames, bars, forks, etc).  In the mid 1990's a lot of the larger companies made their stuff for cheap in Taiwan and the stuff would just destruct and many riders were suffering pretty bad injuries.  So many pro's decided to start their own companies (it actually started much earlier with S&M Bikes who started in the 80's), by making products in the US and built with stronger materials using better welders that could withstand the abuse BMXing puts on a bike.  

 

It was going great through the early 2000's, but the reality of global trade, prices for materials caught up to most of these companies.  It started with a couple of companies having their frames built in Taiwan.....they were hated on constantly within the industry, but their products actually stood up to the abuse.  Within a few years, you would start to see the price of a bike frame built in the US go from around $250 rise to about $350-$400, effectively pricing the majority of their customers out of the market.  Eventually the same companies that hated on the ones making bikes in Taiwan faced the financial plateau of "go to Taiwan or go under".....and they made the move, too.  Now there are just a couple of companies that still build their frames in the US (S&M, ironically, is one of them, though they have lower end bikes built in Asia).  

 

One thing that can be said is the quality of the product, and the quality control overall, has vastly improved from the days of old.  The same guys who started companies solely to produce a product in the US are now making quarterly trips to Taiwan, coming back stating the welders over there are highly trained and can produce quality work that they are proud of.  

 

While across all industries you continually see poorly made products come out of Asia, it doesn't have to be that way.  It's up to the company that is outsourcing their manufacturing to set standards and have good quality control.  So it's possible that a company like Warrior can offshore their custom glove program and have the exact same quality of glove made as before, it's their responsibility to make that happen.  

 

Ahh....the causes and effects of globalization.  That's a whole can of worms that can make up another thread, can't it?  

[ibeck]

How do you know the franchise isn't just being renamed ax1.

Its not, some changes will be made according to a friend in the industry

[MikeO]

These aren't built to his exact specs, but you get an idea of what the AX1's will look like.  The pair closer to him are his normal Franchise. 

 

[ShaunJ13]

The ax1 is going to be extremely similar to the franchise, it'll have the mesh incorporated into the "racing stripes" from what I've heard.

I also think you'll see a lot of pros still in franchise, they are resistant to change as well. They're still making hustlers.

[peckmic2]

A

[olioli]

At the end it is all about $$$

[Gr8erade]

At the end it is all about $$$

Of course it is. We're probably lucky to have as many manufacturer options as we do.

[shoeshine boy]

if true interesting that they're trying to turn themselves into Reebok considering that where I live (admittedly not a hockey hotbed) Reebok is probably the least popular major brand. Bauer is ruling the roost around here, and by a lot.

[JoeyJ0506]

if true interesting that they're trying to turn themselves into Reebok considering that where I live (admittedly not a hockey hotbed) Reebok is probably the least popular major brand. Bauer is ruling the roost around here, and by a lot.

 

Bauer rules the roost everywhere...

[ibeck]

if true interesting that they're trying to turn themselves into Reebok

What does this mean?