Top Selling Jerseys in the League

[Columbus_Sabre_Fan]

They said during the game tonight that the new Buffalo logo jerseys are the top selling jerseys in the league per NHL.com. They are selling more than the Old B&G jerseys.

 

Interesting.

[thesportsbuff]

because you can't get the old B&G anywhere spare the sabrestore itself... and they dont have nearly as many as those produced as the new ones.

 

it's the guerilla marketing campaign -- make less of the better so the worse looks good.

[Orange Seats]

I bet if you could get a break down of zip codes the sales would all be from WNY, it's not these things are becoming a national craze. People are loyal to the team and are buying them, unfortunately.

 

The more I see the Sabres play in the originals, the more I want!

[UnionAMG]

because you can't get the old B&G anywhere spare the sabrestore itself... and they dont have nearly as many as those produced as the new ones.

 

it's the guerilla marketing campaign -- make less of the better so the worse looks good.

 

That really doesn't say much... correct me if I'm wrong, but there was only one other team that got new jerseys this year (Anaheim). Anytime you come out with new jerseys, they are going to sell at their highest rate in the first season and that rate could last two seasons at most. So because they are selling higher then other teams jerseys, that doesn't really speak to their appeal as much as it does to the fact that they are just new. If that statistic holds up in a year or two, then you might be able to draw some conclusions from it, otherwise you can chalk it up to the old saying...

 

"90% of all statistics are wrong"

[Columbus_Sabre_Fan]

I know that there are less of the old B&G and that by default the new ones will sell more, but i was surprised to hear that the new ones are top selling per NHL.com

[mphs mike]

When I heard that I thought it would be interesting to learn the zip code of the purchasers. I suspect alot of purchasers are the "bandwagon" fan of a winner and not people who bleed blue & gold.

 

I was periodically listening to the Flyers radio broadcast on XM - the announcers mentioned the "classy" sweaters the Sabres were wearing - both teams dressed as if Roger the Dodger and Bernie were in goal at the Aud!

[Columbus_Sabre_Fan]

I bet if you could get a break down of zip codes the sales would all be from WNY, it's not these things are becoming a national craze. People are loyal to the team and are buying them, unfortunately.

 

The more I see the Sabres play in the originals, the more I want!

 

I would be interested to see how the national bandwagon is building for our team, especially after a game like tongiht. Theses guys ARE scary good.

[Orange Seats]

I would be interested to see how the national bandwagon is building for our team, especially after a game like tongiht. Theses guys ARE scary good.

 

 

But this is the NHL we're talking about. It's not like the Slug is going to show up in music videos on MTV the way the Bills new jerseys did a few years back when the Donohoe hype machine made the Bills a sexy pick. I just can't see a national bandwagon forming for an NHL team. It's probably because the Sabres and Anaheim and Atlanta are the only new jersey teams and of those Buffalo is the largest hockey town.

 

But yes, the team is scary good.

[buffalowing]

I would agree that its largely based on it being new. But it also shows that they are selling which is bad news for those hoping they will drop the new logo in the next year or two. Long live the NEW Buffalo! :D

[Columbus_Sabre_Fan]

I would agree that its largely based on it being new. But it also shows that they are selling which is bad news for those hoping they will drop the new logo in the next year or two. Long live the NEW Buffalo! :D

 

 

deep down i realize this as well, but it is good to hear that they dominate all parts of the NHL. #1 team in the league and top selling jerseys.

 

Also, look at this way...if 2 other teams got new sweaters this year as well, why aren't they #1 in sales? (I will probably read 15 answers to this question.)

 

Good news/Bad news: This does make LQ look good.

[BrightLights]

Oh, how I have missed the original logo. I have been looking for weeks for a classic blue jersey but have been unsuccessful. I see that the Sabre Store has them, will they take orders over the phone and can you personalize them? Any info would be great? The fact that I can't find a classic jersey anywhere should tell everyone why the new one is selling "faster" than the better one. Combined score with the old jerseys, Good guys: 16 Bad guys: 5

[Columbus_Sabre_Fan]

outstanding point Brightlights:

 

OLD B&G: 2 games, 16 goals.

 

i also noticed tonight that a lot of the players helmets are different shades of dark blue. I am assuming different brands have different shades???? Peters helmet almost looked black.

[norfend]

for everyone looking for a classic jersey, look no further than laux sporting goods. they have had them since the end of last years season and still do at all of their stores. i recently picked up a nice classic white jersey and am still deciding who to have put on it(i think im gonna go with Ruff after some good ideas from the chatroom crew tonight). but i also have a new blue jersey on order - sorry guys, like it or not theyre here to stay, and they dont look half bad anymore

[Done]

This just in.......Buffalo sold 17% of the generators in the entire country last week.

 

It's a BS stat from our friends at NHL.com

 

I don't vomit at the sight of our new duds anymore, but I would much rather see the old B+G. I had Yuri Khymelev and Doug Houda flashbacks tonight

[Robviously]

They said during the game tonight that the new Buffalo logo jerseys are the top selling jerseys in the league per NHL.com. They are selling more than the Old B&G jerseys.

They aren't selling the old B&G period. I'd have already bought one if they were even selling them.

 

The only other team with new uniforms is Anaheim and their uniforms are almost as horrible (black and white, and the logo is the words "Anaheim Ducks").

 

The throwbacks look about 100x better than the Reebok disasters.

[Doohickie]

Too bad no laux stores in Texas.

 

 

As for the jersey sales, it's the perfect storm: A new jersey, a monster start, and the only other new jersey this year is even worse than The Slug (hard to believe but true).

 

The Sabres have no competition on the ice or in the stores right now.

 

As for being a national craze, don't count them out. Just as the New Orleans Saints are the darlings of the NFL, I think the underdog status of the Sabres as a small market franchise can be parleyed into a feel-good surge to make them, well, not quite America's team, but up with the original six. And having a full house the day after a foot of snow fell only adds to the legend. And guess what, if it's a snowy winter in Buffalo, I bet the Sabres will still have a packed house every night. They will be the team, and fans, that fight through any adversity to become winners.

 

Okay, I've romanticized them a bit, but listen to the national media; they are spouting along the same lines.

[Bmwolf21]

for everyone looking for a classic jersey, look no further than laux sporting goods. they have had them since the end of last years season and still do at all of their stores. i recently picked up a nice classic white jersey and am still deciding who to have put on it(i think im gonna go with Ruff after some good ideas from the chatroom crew tonight). but i also have a new blue jersey on order - sorry guys, like it or not theyre here to stay, and they dont look half bad anymore

 

Which one did you get that at? I was in Niagara Falls for my brothers' wedding in September (about a week before the start of the regular season) and I checked both the Summit Mall and Boulevard Mall locations - all they had was a handful of Black & Red items, and a few classic logo t-shirts and sweatshirts. Both stores' managers had no idea at that time when the new jerseys or the classic/retro ones would be available. Plus they don't even list the classic on their website. If they do have them, great, but I haven't heard from anyone that they have gotten any more of the B&G stuff in.

[Doohickie]

I had Yuri Khymelev and Doug Houda flashbacks tonight

Yeah, I was ready for the French Connection to come leaping over the boards, and at one point I almost mistook Briere's number as Gare's 18. I'm tellin' ya, that gave me goosebumps.

 

The old jersey is legendary, at least among the old school fans. And it is far, far, FAR classier in an Original Six kind of way.

 

 

And back to Laux: Their online store has only the new jerseys; no throwbacks. :unsure:

[Robviously]

The old jersey is legendary, at least among the old school fans. And it is far, far, FAR classier in an Original Six kind of way.

I always think of our original uniforms as "Original Six-esque." I remember being shocked when I was a little kid when I found out we weren't one of the oldest teams in the NHL.

 

BTW, there is very little merchandise with the old logo on it compared to the new logo. I think if fans had their choice of all the same merchandise with either logo, the classic would outsell the new junk easily.

 

Once they actually start selling the throwbacks with player names on them, they're going to fly off the shelves.

[norfend]

Which one did you get that at? I was in Niagara Falls for my brothers' wedding in September (about a week before the start of the regular season) and I checked both the Summit Mall and Boulevard Mall locations - all they had was a handful of Black & Red items, and a few classic logo t-shirts and sweatshirts. Both stores' managers had no idea at that time when the new jerseys or the classic/retro ones would be available. Plus they don't even list the classic on their website. If they do have them, great, but I haven't heard from anyone that they have gotten any more of the B&G stuff in.

 

I picked mine up at the one in the boulevard mall and i know there are about 10 at the one in lockport(i live 5 minutes away and stop in regularly). i also saw a few at the laux in the eastern hills mall this week when i went with a girl from work to get a jersey for her(marty biron bought a car from the place i work and she wanted to have him sign it when he came back to fill out the paperwork). hopefully there are still some left for you. Good Luck!

[Screamin'Weasel]

They said during the game tonight that the new Buffalo logo jerseys are the top selling jerseys in the league per NHL.com. They are selling more than the Old B&G jerseys.

 

Interesting.

I along with all of you also heard this during the game. My thought then, as now, is "bullspit." I honestly believe this was the NHL trying to spin things. I think they and RBK are the ones that made this monstrosity and are trying to sell it by claiming it is the "hot thing to have."

 

It is called "viral marketing," ie: trying to sell things by making them seem like it is the "have to have" item. Another form is by having young people talk about "hot" items on the internet with other young people in chat rooms, forums, etc.

 

I really think it is nothing more than hyping the new design to get people to buy them.

[Doohickie]

Resistance is futile: EMBRACE THE SLUG. THE SLUG IS YOUR FRIEND.

[buffalowing]

Yes the whole world is trying to get the people of Buffalo to buy the new merchandise!!!! LQ has paid off everyone. The Buffalo media wasn't enough, now he's paying off national media. All part of his campaign to create the allusion that people actually like the ne logo. He will stop at nothing!!!!! .....give me a break.

[hopeleslyobvious]

Yes the whole world is trying to get the people of Buffalo to buy the new merchandise!!!! LQ has paid off everyone. The Buffalo media wasn't enough, now he's paying off national media. All part of his campaign to create the allusion that people actually like the ne logo. He will stop at nothing!!!!! .....give me a break.

 

:lol:

 

Nice.

 

Sorry guys.

 

Also, in response to the suggestion that the Sabres jerseys are only selling well because they are the newest...In the very next sentence Emerick said that merch sales for the league is up 85% from last year.

[Bmwolf21]

I along with all of you also heard this during the game. My thought then, as now, is "bullspit." I honestly believe this was the NHL trying to spin things. I think they and RBK are the ones that made this monstrosity and are trying to sell it by claiming it is the "hot thing to have."

 

It is called "viral marketing," ie: trying to sell things by making them seem like it is the "have to have" item. Another form is by having young people talk about "hot" items on the internet with other young people in chat rooms, forums, etc.

 

I really think it is nothing more than hyping the new design to get people to buy them.

Yes the whole world is trying to get the people of Buffalo to buy the new merchandise!!!! LQ has paid off everyone. The Buffalo media wasn't enough, now he's paying off national media. All part of his campaign to create the allusion that people actually like the ne logo. He will stop at nothing!!!!! .....give me a break.

Boy, how did you miss the fact that Screamin' laid the blame solely at the NHL's and Rbk's feet, yet you jump to the defense of LQ? Man, you guys accuse us anti-slug people of irrationally hating something/someone, yet you jump in the fire to defend someone who wasn't being attacked...

 

Anyway, while there may be some truth to the numbers, but I also believe there is some NHL/Rbk marketing spin going on. Don't forget, the vintage/throwback B&G still isn't available through the online NHL Shop, and local retailers have just started getting them in, so some fans who want new merchandise have had little choice but to buy the slug. And aside from the logo, the sweaters aren't bad - I would buy one if not for the snot smear. For me, the mere fact that OLN/Vs. is pushing the the new logo/sweaters while other national and opposing local media types are lampooning suggests that the league is telling Vs. to promote only positive aspects about it.

 

The whole thing probably went something like this: Nike's Olympic uniforms get generally good reviews, so Rbk says we'll do the same thing for the NHL - sleeker, form-fitting, new designs, it'll be great. NHL GM's shoot down the form-fitting look, but Rbk still wants to modernize the jerseys. So they do some mockups of new jerseys, do some market research and tells the NHL how much more money it can make on jersey sales with a redesign of other teams. Rbk & the league pick the Sabres for the sleeker redesign, knowing the Sabres are the hot pick for this year, and knowing that Sabres fans are ready to pony up big $$$ due to the excitement from such lofty expectations. New sweaters are nice looking, logo design is horrible, so the team (maybe LQ) gives the fans a little something - they invoke the vintage sweater to quell the uproar. The league says fine, makes sure the only sweaters available for sale nationally are the new ones, ensuring their success, and Rbk & the NHL can point to the Sabres' new uniform "success" when pitching the redesign option to other teams. As part of the league-wide marketing, the NHL instructs their broadcast partner to talk up the success of the new jersey sales.

 

I know some of that was far-fetched, but it is all possible. The more I think about this the more I realize that LQ might just be the fall guy for the uniform fiasco, and that the NHL and Rbk's greedy little fingers are pulling the strings on this twisted puppet show...

Sorry guys.

 

Also, in response to the suggestion that the Sabres jerseys are only selling well because they are the newest...In the very next sentence Emerick said that merch sales for the league is up 85% from last year.

I am not sure about the correlation to the argument at hand, and this might be better suited to a separate thread, but it is interesting to note that while merchandise sales are up, attendance is down. Which would you rather have?

 

Our situation is unique, because the team is coming off a deep playoff run, is picked to make a run at the Cup, the Bills continue to suck and the team rolled out shiny new jerseys. Of course they are going to play to packed houses and sell more jerseys - if they didn't, something would seriously be wrong with the fanbase.