Creating possibly the largest hockey retailer in the U.S., Total Hockey has acquired Players Bench. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Denver-based Players Bench will bring Total Hockey eight new stores across five new markets in Colorado, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, and Ohio.
Total Hockey, which is based in Maryland Heights, MO and operates 24 stores, already has locations in Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Washington D.C. Both chains also sell lacrosse products.
The existing Players Bench stores will be renamed TH/Total Lacrosse.
Combined, the company will have 32 stores with 800 employees with sales of $70 million. The merger puts Total Hockey neck and neck with the size of TSG Enterprises, which operates Pure Hockey and Comlax (Commonwealth Lacrosse) and also had sales of $70 million in 2014.
On a video announcement on Youtube, Michael Benoit, president and CEO of Total Hockey, said that about three years ago, he told a friend he had a goal of becoming the largest hockey retailer in the U.S. by the 2015/2016 timeframe, “but I had no idea how we were going to get there. Today, we sit here with the possibility of combining two of the strongest hockey retailers in the U.S.”
Said Rick Boh, owner and operator of Players Bench Sports for the past 18 years, on the video, “I have never been more rejuvenated and excited about the future ahead of us than I am today.”
Total Hockey has been adding a steady amount of stores over the last several years but Players Bench marks its first acquisition since Benoit founded it in 1999. The video announcement noted that both chains share many similarities, including a commitment to having knowledgeable sales staffs, and no overlap. Total Hockey does 30 percent of its sales online through truehockey.net.
