The Forzani Group Ltd. has decided to roll out nationally its hockey specialty banner concept, which the company said piloted “very successfully” under the Hockey Experts name in Quebec. The hockey specialty banner, which will eventually have stores coast to coast in Canada, has openings planned for next year.
“The addition of a hockey specialty business, and all of the expert knowledge, service, captive labels and product breadth it entails, is a logical extension for The Forzani Group”, said Bob Sartor, CEO, “This banner will benefit from our company's deep hockey expertise and existing strong buying power in the category as we already have the largest market share in this category in Canada”. In addition to a hockey specialty business, The Forzani Group also has specialty golf and fitness retailing concepts. “We see specialty sports retailing concepts as the perfect complements to our existing general sporting goods concepts, such as Sport Chek and Sport Experts, as they broaden our reach, while leveraging our existing buying, marketing and real estate capabilities”, said Sartor.
