Lack of merchandise due to backlash?

[LexLuthor871]

My theory is the Sabres are now downplaying the new jerseys because there has been so much backlash. No merchandise available (only 100 jersey's offered today at Sabres Store?), nothing can be bought online, and they're not even posting photos of the new uni's on the site. I'm just at a loss otherwise to explain it(? ) I'm starting to think they were concerned about fan uproar where and when they finally unveiled them and as a result they're making anything hard to obtain at the moment.

 

I genuinely think Sabres brass is worried about any alternate/third jersey/old logo merchandise flying off the shelves and the new logo'd merchandise collecting dust today; this is why nothing is accessible at the moment.

 

How else could you explain in a "marketing is everything" sports environment, that the Sabres hardly sell anything today, either online or in the brick and mortar retail setting, especially given their small market challenges. Like one poster said, they certainly didn't strike when the iron was hot.

 

I'm in the Carolinas so obviously I wasn't at the Sabres store today but something smells fishy. Call me a conspiracy theorist but I'm starting to think that all this inaccessibility is by design.

[Screamin'Weasel]

I think you are on the right track, but I think you missed the mark. My guess is they only had a small quantity on hand so they could use the spin of, "People love the new uniforms! We sold out in just a few minutes at the unveiling!"

 

For Pete's sake the Sabre Store at the arena is open extra hours all week including tomorrow! What are they going to sell if they are sold out of jerseys? They want us to believe they seriously only had 100 on sale there the day of the unveiling, just a mere few weeks before the season starts?

 

It smells fishy alright.

[quikchomp]

Um, that is beyond ridiculous. They are going full-forward with this. They simply didn't have enough product.

[LexLuthor871]

I think you are on the right track, but I think you missed the mark. My guess is they only had a small quantity on hand so they could use the spin of, "People love the new uniforms! We sold out in just a few minutes at the unveiling!"

 

For Pete's sake the Sabre Store at the arena is open extra hours all week including tomorrow! What are they going to sell if they are sold out of jerseys? They want us to believe they seriously only had 100 on sale there the day of the unveiling, just a mere few weeks before the season starts?

 

It smells fishy alright.

 

I'm glad you offered another take on this screamin', and you're right I was probably a little bit off the mark. All opinions of the slug aside, I really think the way they're spinning this from a sales availability standpoint speaks volumes. This to me, is a lot more egregious then any logo they put on a jersey. As a fan, I'm more disappointed about how today was handled then their designs. As a fan, I want to see the team compete financially and get as much bang for its buck as possible. Larry Quinn I'll give you a mulligan on the logo but I won't forgive how you blew it today.

 

Um, that is beyond ridiculous. They are going full-forward with this. They simply didn't have enough product.

 

If "full forward" means having only 100 jerseys to sell today, and leaving red and black merchandise online - this after an entire summer - I'd say your calling me ridiculous is what's REALLY ridiculous.

[Screamin'Weasel]

For El Crusho, Freddie Mercury.

 

First off, what is far fetched with spinning a disaster into a good thing in public eyes? It has happened for time out of mind. At the unveiling of a new uniform, the only store that has the product and can sell it has only 100 on hand? And that store is the official store for the team to boot. Fans have been unhappy and they can now say, "We sold out in just a few minutes! I told you fans would like it when they saw it!" It is damage control spin.

 

Why will the Sabre Store be open tomorrow without merchandise? "Come on down to the arena and gaze at all the Sabres merchandise we don't have!" They going to get a shipment tonight some time?

 

Radio shills present for the event screen calls of people who don't like it to show how many people do. No coverage of the unhappy fans. It is clearly spin. Tomorrow the store will have more jerseys and they will sell out again. Trust me.

[JonathanH]

If you want to complain about the online store, call or write NHL.Com about it, thats who runs it.

 

I looked at the Anaheim store, and a blank jersey, leaves the warehouse in 4 to 5 weeks. Your telling me they debuted these 2 months ago and it takes over a month, to leave a warehouse? And also with Calgary, why would it take so long, don't they them laying around. The tshirts are available now.

 

Me thinks Reebok is having issues.

[jad1]

Why would the Sabres care if $100 is spent on a vintage jersey rather than a new one? It's still $100 bucks in their pockets. I doubt that they would give up that revenue for something as silly as protecting their egos.

 

Reebok is responsible for producing the merchandise. The Sabres might have been making last minute changes to the new design, which led to delays in production. But that doesn't explain the delay in making the vintage jersey available. Other than that, it's on Reebok.

[LexLuthor871]

Why would the Sabres care if $100 is spent on a vintage jersey rather than a new one? It's still $100 bucks in their pockets. I doubt that they would give up that revenue for something as silly as protecting their egos.

 

Reebok is responsible for producing the merchandise. The Sabres might have been making last minute changes to the new design, which led to delays in production. But that doesn't explain the delay in making the vintage jersey available. Other than that, it's on Reebok.

 

I'll buy that explanation (partially). I guess this is what happens when you ship all your production offshore to China. It takes forever to get here. Ahhh globalization at its finest. Thank you Reebok! Great job again NHL, you never cease to amaze me!

[jad1]

I'll buy that explanation (partially). I guess this is what happens when you ship all your production offshore to China. It takes forever to get here. Ahhh globalization at its finest. Thank you Reebok! Great job again NHL, you never cease to amaze me!

 

Yep. A couple of seasons ago, the NHL had agreements with both CCM and Koho, two hockey-centric companies. If they had the NHL contract, they'd be all over these uniform changes.

 

Reebok has many more lines of business, and you get the feeling with the delay of the new uniform type for the NHL (was supposed to be introduced this year) that hockey is not their highest priority.

[Screamin'Weasel]

Why would the Sabres care if $100 is spent on a vintage jersey rather than a new one? It's still $100 bucks in their pockets. I doubt that they would give up that revenue for something as silly as protecting their egos.

Reebok is responsible for producing the merchandise. The Sabres might have been making last minute changes to the new design, which led to delays in production. But that doesn't explain the delay in making the vintage jersey available. Other than that, it's on Reebok.

Think bigger, my Padawan learner!

 

$100 dollars not made today can be made just as easily tomorrow. Or Monday. Or Tuesday, etc. etc., ad naseum, ad infinatum.

 

However! Keeping the supply of sales limited keeps the demand high as well as gets people to the arena daily. "No jerseys! Crud, i really wanted one. Give me this hat for now." Cha-ching! "What? You'll have more tomorrow? Ok! I'll be back!"

 

Now, he will come tomorrow during open practice and buy another $18 soft pretzel and $32 12-ounce soda. "Add-on sales" are where money is made. Plus the positive spin of selling out quickly makes people think, "Everyone is getting theirs, I'd better hurry and get mine too!" as well as, "They keep selling out, so maybe people like them better than I thought. Maybe I should get one even though I don't like it."

 

This is deffinately a spin and marketting ploy.

[Kevbeau]

Yep. A couple of seasons ago, the NHL had agreements with both CCM and Koho, two hockey-centric companies. If they had the NHL contract, they'd be all over these uniform changes.

 

Reebok has many more lines of business, and you get the feeling with the delay of the new uniform type for the NHL (was supposed to be introduced this year) that hockey is not their highest priority.

 

Uhhh...Reebok owns CCM and Koho.

[Screamin'Weasel]

Uhhh...Reebok owns CCM and Koho.

Thanks. Didn't want to edit my post to point that out. Also, from what I have heard, CCM is being disolved completely. No more CCM logos on any equipment.

[jad1]

Think bigger, my Padawan learner!

 

$100 dollars not made today can be made just as easily tomorrow. Or Monday. Or Tuesday, etc. etc., ad naseum, ad infinatum.

 

However! Keeping the supply of sales limited keeps the demand high as well as gets people to the arena daily. "No jerseys! Crud, i really wanted one. Give me this hat for now." Cha-ching! "What? You'll have more tomorrow? Ok! I'll be back!"

 

Now, he will come tomorrow during open practice and buy another $18 soft pretzel and $32 12-ounce soda. "Add-on sales" are where money is made. Plus the positive spin of selling out quickly makes people think, "Everyone is getting theirs, I'd better hurry and get mine too!" as well as, "They keep selling out, so maybe people like them better than I thought. Maybe I should get one even though I don't like it."

 

This is deffinately a spin and marketting ploy.

 

Yeah right. The Sabres right now have a sellers market. They're going to sell out their season before opening night. The Buffalo region loves this team and it players. Each jersey is different, because they have the players' names and numbers. Many fans will buy multiple jerseys to match their favorite players (they could easily incent new sales by selling un-numbered jerseys today, and introduce the numbered ones when the season starts).

 

When you have that type of market, there's no need to create a bigger buzz. Those who don't like the new stuff will buy the vintage stuff.

 

And even if the plan was to limit the jersey, it makes no sense to limit it to the ridiculously low number of 100 jerseys. You can accomplish the same goal by limiting it to 1,000 or 2,000, and make 10x or 20x the initial profit.

 

Much has been written about Reebok's issues with getting NHL products to market in this thread. That's the more obvious reason.

 

Uhhh...Reebok owns CCM and Koho.

 

Two separate companies competing for the NHL merchandise business has been absorbed into one company, with no competitors in the market. Good for Reebok, bad for the NHL fan.

[inkman]

This is deffinately a spin and marketting ploy.

 

I can see this as plausible but I'm betting it won't happen this way. I still think the best market strategfy in this case is flood the market. The more people see it, the more people want it. Did they really think that only selling 100 jersey's today would be a good thing. I think they could have sold 5 times that, and kept up the supposed demand because more people would still have wanted the jersey.

 

Nothing they have done so far has led me to believe they actualy know WTF they are doing. It has seemed like a giant cluster #%^$#! from the start. At no point have I felt like they had a singular goal with proper methodology for achieving it.

 

At this #%^$#!ing point, the logo, the jersey just doesn't matter to me any more. This organization has built up enough good will in me that I'm willing to let things go. All I ask for is honesty, integrity, and a little common sense. They seem willing, with the inclusiuon of the third jersey, which was not in their original plans. Just stop all the needless spinning with the media.

 

People will buy the dang jersey. Not as many as anticipated, but enough I'm sure. I just don't know why they would only have 100 jersey's on hand at the UNVEILING OF THEIR FREAKING NEW UNIFORMS. Is their a more opportune time to sell your merchandise, other than perhaps a Stanley Cup victory. I'm needlessly confused.

 

And even if the plan was to limit the jersey, it makes no sense to limit it to the ridiculously low number of 100 jerseys.

 

This is what I'm getting at. WTF? Makes no fuggin sense.

[apuszczalowski]

Maybe they only had 100 on hand cause they didn't think they would sell any since EVERY fan hates the new logo and no one was going to buy them since the new logo is hideous and if we don't buy them we will force them to get a new logo. When in fact, they sold the 100 they did have out real quickly today.

 

But it has to be a conspiracy orchastrated by the evil Larry Quinn to discourage Sabres fans and cause them to lose their support for the team and allow them to go cheap and move to anouther big market and cash in.

[smith]

not sure if i'm missing information, but i thought i'd at least get a recorded message when i called the hsbc store (from VA) today...

 

just another "shocker" that they weren't prepared.

[Bmwolf21]

Why would the Sabres care if $100 is spent on a vintage jersey rather than a new one? It's still $100 bucks in their pockets. I doubt that they would give up that revenue for something as silly as protecting their egos.

 

Reebok is responsible for producing the merchandise. The Sabres might have been making last minute changes to the new design, which led to delays in production. But that doesn't explain the delay in making the vintage jersey available. Other than that, it's on Reebok.

I don't doubt Rbk has to shoulder a lot of the blame for the lack of product today, but I also have to think the Sabres and the NHL Store have to share some responsibility for the screwups. The day of the unveiling, and you still have only the black & red stuff online?

 

But the other point in this - of course the Sabres & Rbk care where that $100 comes from - after all, they don't want to be sitting on a bunch of jerseys they can't sell. Plus, it costs $$ to make a replica or authentic jersey, and I am sure the Sabres don't want to take a loss on merchandise for too long. If the vintage stuff outsells the new sweaters by a wide margin, you better believe the Sabres, Rbk and the NHL will all take notice.

 

Yeah right. The Sabres right now have a sellers market. They're going to sell out their season before opening night. The Buffalo region loves this team and it players. Each jersey is different, because they have the players' names and numbers. Many fans will buy multiple jerseys to match their favorite players (they could easily incent new sales by selling un-numbered jerseys today, and introduce the numbered ones when the season starts).

 

When you have that type of market, there's no need to create a bigger buzz. Those who don't like the new stuff will buy the vintage stuff.

 

And even if the plan was to limit the jersey, it makes no sense to limit it to the ridiculously low number of 100 jerseys. You can accomplish the same goal by limiting it to 1,000 or 2,000, and make 10x or 20x the initial profit.

 

Much has been written about Reebok's issues with getting NHL products to market in this thread. That's the more obvious reason.

Two separate companies competing for the NHL merchandise business has been absorbed into one company, with no competitors in the market. Good for Reebok, bad for the NHL fan.

I don't think anyone expects them to have 100s of personalized jerseys ready to go today - but to not have a reasonable supply of blank replicas is not asking too much.

 

Look, plain and simple, the Sabres, Rbk and the NHL didn't have their stuff together today. Whether it was by design to limit how many they had, or by lack of production, or not having their ducks in a row, we'll never know, but they probably lost a lot of potential sales today by not having enough product to meet the demand.

 

Here's another thought - if the Sabres had as much confidence in the public's acceptance of the jersey as Quinn said he did, then why not make sure it was available to advance order online, and have computer kiosks set up in the lobby of HSBC Arena? Why not have a similar ordering booth in the Sabres Store where you could advance order your jersey with a small deposit?

[Chilly]

Maybe they only had 100 on hand cause they didn't think they would sell any since EVERY fan hates the new logo and no one was going to buy them since the new logo is hideous and if we don't buy them we will force them to get a new logo. When in fact, they sold the 100 they did have out real quickly today.

 

But it has to be a conspiracy orchastrated by the evil Larry Quinn to discourage Sabres fans and cause them to lose their support for the team and allow them to go cheap and move to anouther big market and cash in.

 

Yeah that's exactly what he's saying. :rolleyes:

 

Read his post. His point is that the Sabres might have been worried that the 3rd jersey would sell a bunch more then the new jerseys, thus garnering bad press, so a supply shortage is a convenient out until the judge the real selling power of old versus new.

[jad1]

I don't doubt Rbk has to shoulder a lot of the blame for the lack of product today, but I also have to think the Sabres and the NHL Store have to share some responsibility for the screwups. The day of the unveiling, and you still have only the black & red stuff online?

 

It seems to me that this whole process has been behind schedule. One reason why Quinn could have offered so much mis-information in his press conference is because the design process wasn't complete. Supposedly, the Sabres themselves didn't receive THEIR jerseys until the middle of last week. Who's to blame in this is up in the air, but I wouldn't be surprised to find out that the NHL/Reebok relationship isn't running smoothly right now.

 

My thought is this. Reebok wants to create a more modernized signature look for the NHL, but the NHL, being a more traditional league, is not completely on board. Take the new streamline look that Reebok wanted to introduce this season. The national teams have adopted the look, but my guess is that the NHL isn't happy with the way the streamlined jersey looks on more traditonal teams like the Leafs and Canadiens, so the production was 'delayed' until next year.

 

But the other point in this - of course the Sabres & Rbk care where that $100 comes from - after all, they don't want to be sitting on a bunch of jerseys they can't sell. Plus, it costs $$ to make a replica or authentic jersey, and I am sure the Sabres don't want to take a loss on merchandise for too long. If the vintage stuff outsells the new sweaters by a wide margin, you better believe the Sabres, Rbk and the NHL will all take notice.

I don't think anyone expects them to have 100s of personalized jerseys ready to go today - but to not have a reasonable supply of blank replicas is not asking too much.

 

Sure, but they're going to make those conclusions after an entire season of sales, not after the first day of sales. Quinn's comments indicate that he expects fans to adapt to the look as the season goes on. So I doubt that they were afraid of an imbalance after the initial day of sales.

 

Look, plain and simple, the Sabres, Rbk and the NHL didn't have their stuff together today. Whether it was by design to limit how many they had, or by lack of production, or not having their ducks in a row, we'll never know, but they probably lost a lot of potential sales today by not having enough product to meet the demand.

 

No doubt they didn't have their stuff together. But I seriously doubt that the the parties involved are sitting on top of a warehouse full of jerseys. They didn't sell them because they didn't have them. And that's an alarming situation for a league that is so dependant on local revenue for its survival.

 

Here's another thought - if the Sabres had as much confidence in the public's acceptance of the jersey as Quinn said he did, then why not make sure it was available to advance order online, and have computer kiosks set up in the lobby of HSBC Arena? Why not have a similar ordering booth in the Sabres Store where you could advance order your jersey with a small deposit?

 

Maybe they're still not ready to ramp up production to meet demand. They may not want to get into a situation where a fan has to wait eight weeks to get his jersey. My guess is that supply is going to be an issue for a few months.

[deluca67]

Didn't the Sabres move up the date of the jersey release? That might explain the lack of product.

 

Also,

 

It was a pretty good idea to do it the day the tickets went on sale. ;)

[SabresForCup]

I was told the vendor is having a hard time meeting demand. If the Sabres had Jerseys to sell, they would have sold them. With all the hype from the day, people would have bought some even if they really didn't care for it. I placed an order at the arena today, hopefully it'll be ready when I go to the Sabres vs. Pens preseason game.

[Kevbeau]

Thanks. Didn't want to edit my post to point that out. Also, from what I have heard, CCM is being disolved completely. No more CCM logos on any equipment.

 

I know Koho is all but gone.

 

CCM is at least around for this year. The Vector line is doing pretty well and I think Tacks have been around for a century. Reebok also bought Jofa and is phasing that name out and incorporating their protective equipment technology (some of the best) into the RBK line.

 

Won't be long before the only choices are Nike & Reebok.

[DevilsAlum]

With all the hype from the day, people would have bought some even if they really didn't care for it. I placed an order at the arena today, hopefully it'll be ready when I go to the Sabres vs. Pens preseason game.

 

If they would have had the classic Sabres jersey for sale I would have bought one. Heck, if they would've had the slug jersey ready to go with a player that I wanted (I need a #6 Jim Schoenfeld jersey. I now refuse to buy any jersey, Bills or Sabres, that is not of a favorite player from the past. I blame my purchase of a Bledsoe jersey on this affliction)

 

A competent marketing department would've made sure that they had enough product to sell.

[TM8-PL16]

are they NOT selling merch with the original logo anymore? during las season I could have bought 3 different LaFontaine t-shirts (old logo/colors), as well as a few hats, and "old time" shirts with the old logo and such... now, there isn't one item with the original logo to be bought at the online store and they will actually be wearing this logo this year... this is puzzling. I think the Sabres KNOW that the old stuff would outsell the new stuff so they aren't letting it out...

 

if anyone finds new original merch, let us know... that's what needs to be bought by those of us who don't like the slug..

[Bmwolf21]

I know Koho is all but gone.

 

CCM is at least around for this year. The Vector line is doing pretty well and I think Tacks have been around for a century. Reebok also bought Jofa and is phasing that name out and incorporating their protective equipment technology (some of the best) into the RBK line.

 

Won't be long before the only choices are Nike & Reebok.

And last year Reebok was bought by adidas, so really its Nike & adidas...