According to the St. Louis Dispatch, hockey retailer Total Hockey has filed for Bankruptcy and a Boston based competitor is looking to acquire the chain.
Total Hockey began operations in 1999, and currently has 32 different locations throughout the U.S. However, with a recent sales decline beginning in 2015, Total Hockey is now looking to be acquired in order to keep the stores alive.
Per the Dispatch:
In recent weeks, Total Hockey has been in talks with competitors and private equity firms about acquiring the chain and keeping the stores open.
TSG Enterprises, which is based in the Boston area, has made a stalking horse bid to acquire Total Hockey for $22.5 million. TSG owns the Pure Hockey chain, which has 23 stores, and Hockey Giant, which has nine stores, primarily in markets where Total Hockey doesn’t have a presence.
“Total Hockey exists in several markets that we’d like to expand into and there’s not a lot of overlap,” TSG’s director of retail marketing Matt Rosenthal told the Post-Dispatch. If the sale finalizes, TSG has not yet determined if it’ll operate the stores under the Total Hockey brand or whether Total Hockey will keep its Maryland Heights office. “That’s to be determined,” he said. “Total Hockey has a lot of valuable internal assets, including employees and technology.”
TSG is seeking to finalize the purchase by August 5 in order to have time to restock the shelves at Total Hockey stores in time for the start of hockey season. According to court documents, bids from other buyers are being considered and an auction will be held for Total Hockey’s assets.
The move would be beneficial for TSG, allowing them to offer more of a presence in the midwest, and other parts of the nation. The Detroit area had largely been serviced by Perani’s until recently when Total Hockey entered the territory offering consumers a new store to shop at.
The move would also give the organization a much larger market share when it comes to physical retail shops. Their primary competition would then come from Perani’s and Monkey Sports locations.
Ultimately a large portion of competition will still come from online shops who can service most needs for customers just as easily. Ice and Inline Warehouse, based out of San Luis Obispo, CA, provides all of the same hockey equipment without all of the costly overhead brought on by dozens of retail operations. They also offer guaranteed low prices, as well as free shipping on most orders, making the purchase from your own couch a pretty effortless experience.
