NHL Flames store is a joke

[Flames89]

So I am looking to pick up a jersey for the early December game versus the Leafs, and I go to the NHL store to see what is available.

Unbelievably they only have 2 current player adult jerseys in stock. Glencross (boo) and Brodie (better). However they also offer a Kiprusoff and two versions of Iginla. 2 current and 3 former.

Getting a "custom" jersey of any of our current players takes 2-3 weeks before it even ships.

That is ridiculous.

[jaginla]

They also heat press iirc. I use river city sports.

[Flamesguy_SJ]

Originally Posted by jaginla

They also heat press iirc. I use river city sports.

River City is great. I also encourage you to order from the Flames FanAttic store, I've dealt with them numerous times ordering online and they are great. Stuff always ships easily with no problems (I live on the East Coast), and if anything ever does go awry they are quick to fix it.

www.flamesport.com

[Regular_John]

Assuming you're talking about NHL.com here, they've got 30 teams to worry about. Taking cresting out of it you're still dealing with 60 (home/away) variants minimum for each team... oh and sizing, and premier/authentic. Wait did I just say home/away jerseys? Forgot about thirds, and special event jerseys, oh and the ladies cuts, can't forget about youth either.

Just from a stock/logistics standpoint stocking the regular players for all teams would be a nightmare.

[bc-chris]

have you pm-ed FlamesFanStrandedInEdmonton??

he's always selling jerseys at great prices and might have something you'd like

from the buy & sell section....
http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthread.php?t=138408



costco.ca has jerseys too (another thread from ffsie)....

http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthr...ghlight=costco

[rexx92]

Keeping customized jerseys in stock is generally a poor business decision. Call ahead to the North Hill FanAttic location and see what they have.

[Flames89]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

Assuming you're talking about NHL.com here, they've got 30 teams to worry about. Taking cresting out of it you're still dealing with 60 (home/away) variants minimum for each team... oh and sizing, and premier/authentic. Wait did I just say home/away jerseys? Forgot about thirds, and special event jerseys, oh and the ladies cuts, can't forget about youth either.

Just from a stock/logistics standpoint stocking the regular players for all teams would be a nightmare.

Really? You think THAT is a stock/logistics nightmare?

[Flames89]

River City looks good. Thanks. However, their Giordano jersey does not have the C on it.
(yep, am picky)

[Chill Cosby]

Originally Posted by Flames89

Really? You think THAT is a stock/logistics nightmare?

Stocking 6-8,000 different products at one time would be a nightmare, especially considering you'd also carry multiple blank jerseys and jerseys of the most popular players, so you'd be looking at 10-15,000 in total product load.

That's pretty hefty. Especially the 6-8,000 different products. I don't know any retail store/supplier that carries that much on hand.

[tvp2003]

Good call on the Costco deal -- probably the best price you'll find for a crested jersey. Plus, I don't think you have to be a member to order from their website (it looks like you end up getting it from a third party dealer anyways).

Originally Posted by jaydorn

Assuming you're talking about NHL.com here, they've got 30 teams to worry about. Taking cresting out of it you're still dealing with 60 (home/away) variants minimum for each team... oh and sizing, and premier/authentic. Wait did I just say home/away jerseys? Forgot about thirds, and special event jerseys, oh and the ladies cuts, can't forget about youth either.

Just from a stock/logistics standpoint stocking the regular players for all teams would be a nightmare.

That's probably why they do the crappy "faux stich" heat press. A lot easier to stock a bunch of letters and numbers than to have a bunch of jerseys pre-crested in advance (especially when players get traded, etc.).

[Northendzone]

what about all of those jersey stores along younge street?

[Regular_John]

Originally Posted by Flames89

Really? You think THAT is a stock/logistics nightmare?

Yes, in the real world we have constraints and such. And not customizing things until they are sold works quite well in this world. It allows much more flexibility with less stock.

But I get it, not having the jersey you want for the game you're attending is a solid first world problem to have. I do hope you'll pull through.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by Chill Cosby

Stocking 6-8,000 different products at one time would be a nightmare, especially considering you'd also carry multiple blank jerseys and jerseys of the most popular players, so you'd be looking at 10-15,000 in total product load.

That's pretty hefty. Especially the 6-8,000 different products. I don't know any retail store/supplier that carries that much on hand.

Especially when mossy won't sell

[driveway]

Originally Posted by Chill Cosby

Stocking 6-8,000 different products at one time would be a nightmare, especially considering you'd also carry multiple blank jerseys and jerseys of the most popular players, so you'd be looking at 10-15,000 in total product load.

That's pretty hefty. Especially the 6-8,000 different products. I don't know any retail store/supplier that carries that much on hand.

NHL.com lists 702 players who have at least one game played this year. nhluniforms.com shows 18 teams with 3 jerseys and 12 with 2, plus the two Winter Classics, for an average of 1.333... jerseys per active player for 936 distinctive jerseys.

Given a standard size run of 5: S-M-L-XL-XXL per player, that would be 3,510 products, simply having two of each player in each size would hit your low-end of 6,000.

It would be insane for the NHL store to stock like that.

I am going to blame the several pints of japanese lager I have had tonight for this post.

[Flames89]

Ok. Returning to reason, is it really that out of the question for the NHL store to stock the top 5-10 players of each team?
In this world of Amazon, Walmart, and Fedex, there are far more complex logistical systems and solutions out there.

I still stand by the NHL store is a joke. They love making money from jersey sales, and yet their store is outclassed by River City Sports.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Flames89

Ok. Returning to reason, is it really that out of the question for the NHL store to stock the top 5-10 players of each team?
In this world of Amazon, Walmart, and Fedex, there are far more complex logistical systems and solutions out there.

I still stand by the NHL store is a joke. They love making money from jersey sales, and yet their store is outclassed by River City Sports.

I don't think it's cost effective for them on a national basis.

[FlamesFanStrandedInEDM]

Be wary of Fakes.

Its sad that the Fake China stores have a better selection than the real stores. But I guess they have to to be successful.

If you can wait, costco.ca is the best bet.

[Frequitude]

The flaw in their model is not stock capacity, it is the fact that it takes 2-3 weeks for them to add a name to a jersey before shipping.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Frequitude

The flaw in their model is not stock capacity, it is the fact that it takes 2-3 weeks for them to add a name to a jersey before shipping.

Maybe they should sell official lettering and let people have them sewn on.

[iggyformayor]

When Nike took over the NFL licensing, they spent hundreds of millions building the infrastructure to supply jerseys and gear based on week to week performance of players, so that if an unknown player gets hot and jersey sales increase, they have the inventory to drive sales. While it is a big investment, the key in retail is not missing a sale. If the NHL isn't doing this, it's a huge miss on their part. Really, 10-15k pieces of stock is not that substantial, especially in clothing and jerseys, as they really don't take up that much space.