U.S. firm buys city skate maker

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This article was published 25/11/2016 (3293 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The city company that makes Winnipeg Jet Dustin Byfuglien’s skates has been sold, but the all-star defenceman won’t have to venture far when he needs another pair.

VH Footwear, which supplies custom skates to more than 80 NHL stars and at least twice as many Europeans and other pro players, was acquired this week by True Temper, the Memphis-based sporting goods company more famous for its steel and graphite golf club shafts.

It was only about three years ago that the first NHL players started experimenting with the custom-made, form-fitting skates, but the high-performance features in the $1,000-a-pair skates have built a following around the world.

As part of the deal, VH Footwear, founded by former speedskater Scott Van Horne, will continue making skates using its proprietary custom process in Winnipeg where it now employs 12 people.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Never did we hesitate to continue the plan these guys already had in place in terms of manufacturing staying here and retaining the employees. The concept of customization and the handcrafted angle… it is such a great story,” said Dave McNally, the head of business development for True Temper’s Ottawa-based hockey division.

A number of Jets players were some of the early guinea pigs and word of the advantages of the fit and performance of the skates spread throughout the elite hockey world and caught the attention of True Temper more than a year ago.

VH Footwear’s plan was never to sell the company. Van Horne took on some partners a couple of years ago, including Garth Smith, the company’s sales and marketing vice-president.

“I’m not sure we ever contemplated selling the company one way or the other,” Smith said. “This was more just marketplace timing and opportunity.”

The company has doubled in size each of the last three years and it likely has plenty of room left to grow. Smith said the custom-manufacturing process is not going to change, but the fact pro players need multiple pairs of skates every year means there is plenty of runway for continued growth.

Smith said he understood the potential for the company when Van Horne told him when he started on the World Cup speedskating circuit there were only two guys with custom-made skates and within six to seven years every single skater was using custom skates.

“Bells went off in my head,” said Smith. “A couple of years ago very few players in hockey were wearing custom skates. Could we see a time when the majority are wearing custom skates? Will the market come to us?”

It looks like it is and True Temper wants to be part of it.

True Temper has been making white label composite hockey sticks for other brands for many years — about two million of them — and then launched its own stick brand about three years ago. The company, owned by the New York-based private equity firm Lincolnshire Management, however, was not in the skate business.

“There is a saying in the industry that if you don’t have a skate and a stick line, you’re not a real hockey company and there is a lot of truth to that,” said McNally. “These guys (VH Footwear) have done such a phenomenal job from a product standpoint. This makes us a more relevant player when you talk about the pro hockey level and even at the retail level.”

The deal comes at a time of some disruption in the hockey equipment manufacturing industry. The dominant player in the sector, Performance Sports Group Ltd., makers of a number of brands including Bauer and Easton, is in creditor protection and its future is uncertain.

“The industry needed a good story right now,” said McNally. “It’s had a tough year.”

Discussions are on-going regarding branding of the Winnipeg-made skates. Currently NHL players who wear VH Footwear skates do not feature any brand logo on the skates.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca