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U.S. hockey customers witnessed the unveiling of a new, modernized brand identity from Source for Hockey stores with the start of the hockey season in 2022.

The new Source for Hockey brand was born from customer research and the need to satisfy the unique needs of our U.S. retail members — who exclusively sell hockey product. We wanted to ensure that the new branding built upon the brand identity established in the Canadian marketplace with Source for Sports, but catered to the U.S. needs,” said Brad Hause, President of Sports Distributors of Canada (SDC).

Source for Sports and Source for Hockey stores are part of SDC, which is North America’s largest hockey retail buying group. SDC, the National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA) and the Hockey Dealers Association (HDA) formed a collaboration in 2013 to give U.S. hockey retailers the opportunity to participate in a buying group. The U.S. group has grown to more than 40 owners with 74 locations.

This brand transformation includes a new brand logo and tagline — “WE FIT YOUR GAME” — that is featured throughout all marketing channels, in addition to new store design standards and a new Source Exclusive collection of hockey accessories.

“It has been incredibly exciting to witness the transformation of our dealers’ stores across North America, as they incorporate the branding updates through new signage and other enhancements to their store exterior and interior,” Hause said.

The network includes more than 200 stores in Canada and the U.S., owned and operated by member partners. For more than five decades, the Source for

Sports' knowledgeable and community-minded store owners have equipped customers with the sporting goods they need to do the activities they love with confidence. The cornerstone of each store’s success is personalized service delivered by expert staff.

Launching The New Brand Positioning And Identity

“We learned through consumer research that what really resonated with hockey families is our belief that when it comes to sports, no two players are the same,” said Donna Finelli, Chief Marketing Officer, Source for Hockey. “We are uniquely positioned to help customers find the gear that is right for them — because of our commitment to highly personalized service combined with our expertise. We brought this to life with a new tagline, a reinvention of the brand identity, new brand imagery and creative that kickedoff the hockey season.”

NEW SOURCE EXCLUSIVE S –HOCKEY COLLECTION

To reinforce the new identity, Source for Hockey dealers launched a collection of high-quality hockey accessories, including base-layer garments, hockey bags and a broad selection of essential hockey items to satisfy the needs of all levels of players. The collection features the new iconic “S” graphic and is available exclusively at participating Source for Hockey locations across the country.

Bauer Named Sdc Hockey Vendor Of The Year

Earlier this year, BioSteel became the Official Hydration Partner of the NHL and the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) in a full-circle moment for a brand born in an NHL locker room. Through the League deal, BioSteel secured rinkside marketing and product supply rights for all benches and locker rooms, the right to use NHL logos, marks and teams at the national level, as well as player marketing and activation rights through the NHLPA.

Rinkside Sports Wins Bauer Specialty Retailer Of The Year Award

Bauer Hockey is also a member of NSGA.

Bauer received the Sports Distributors of Canada (SDC) “Hockey Vendor of the Year” award at SDC’s annual Buying and Marketing Show on Tuesday, November 15, 2022 at the Scotiabank Convention Center in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

The SDC show was held November 14-16 and had more than 600 attendees, including members from stores in Canada and the United States, with 143 vendor partner booths. There were business presentations that highlighted SDC’s new branding initiatives, a review of the new national e-commerce website (sourceforsports.ca) which launched in February 2022 and the early sales data of the new S-HOCKEY branded collection, which is exclusive to Source for Sports.

All these strategic initiatives were completed during the 50th anniversary year of SDC. The next show will be June 13–16, 2023 in Niagara Falls.

Biosteel Announces Nhl Partnerships

BioSteel Sports Nutrition Inc., announced multi-year partnerships as the new Official Sports Hydration Partner of six National Hockey League franchises: the Anaheim Ducks, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning.

“BioSteel has been deeply imbedded in the hockey community since its inception, and when we secured the NHL deal last summer, we knew we wanted to deepen our connection with hockey fans through local partnerships and activations,” said Michael Cammalleri, Co-Founder of BioSteel in 2009 and a 15-year NHL veteran. “Through each of these new team deals, we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to tell our story and introduce our premium hydration products to each of these franchises’ communities.”

LAWSUIT ALLEGES ADIDAS MISLEADING ON “AUTHENTIC” NHL FAN JERSEYS

A class action suit filed Jan. 14 in a Michigan federal court alleged adidas misleads fans into believing they are purchasing “authentic” NHL jerseys identical to those worn by NHL players, but the quality is not as advertised.

The plaintiff filed the class action lawsuit against Adidas America Inc., alleging violations of state and federal consumer laws, according to a story by Top Class Actions, a website which provides class action news. The plaintiff said the “authentic” jerseys are not those worn in games by NHL players and are similar to replica or counterfeit authentic jerseys.

The plaintiff is suing for violation of state consumer laws, breach of warranty, negligence, misrepresentation, fraud, and unjust enrichment and is seeking certification of the class action, damages, fees, costs and jury trial.

RinkSide Sports, an HDA member, won the 2022 Bauer Specialty Retailer of the Year award at the annual Bauer World event. RinkSide Sports, with three locations in the Tampa Bay, Florida area, won the Bauer retail award for the United States. RinkSide Sports has been an HDA member since 2015 and is part of the Sports Distributors of Canada (SDC)/ National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA)/HDA collaboration for purchasing hockey products. RinkSide owner Allen Van Valkenburg is a member of the HDA Advisory Committee.

Sports Rousseau, with multiple locations around Quebec, won the Bauer retail award for Canada. Sport Rousseau has been servicing the Quebec area for more than 40 years.

HAVE HOCKEY NEWS YOU WANT TO SHARE?

TOM VAN JACOBS, Hockey Dealers Association (HDA) Managing Director, at TVANJACOBS@NSGA.ORG.

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