Bauer Hockey is a manufacturer of ice hockey equipment, fitness and recreational skates and apparel. Bauer produces helmets, gloves, sticks, skates, shin guards, pants, shoulder pads, elbow pads, hockey jocks and compression underwear, as well as goalie equipment. Bauer primarily developed and manufactured hockey skates prior to 1990, when it acquired the hockey assets of Cooper Canada Ltd. Bauer operates as a unit of Peak Achievement Athletics Inc. of Exeter, New Hampshire.
History
In 1927, the Bauer family, owners of Western Shoe Company, established the Bauer Skate company as it is known today in Kitchener, Ontario. Bauer was the first hockey company to begin producing hockey skates in which the blade was permanently secured to the boot. The boot and blade were made by Bauer. In years following, Bauer Skate's top line was originally marketed under the trade name "Bauer Supreme". The company was further popularized by the prominence of Bobby Bauer, a family member through marriage and Hockey Hall of Fame member who starred for the Boston Bruins in the 30s and 40s. In the 1960s & 70's, the company paid superstar Bobby Hull to endorse their skates. As well superstars Bobby Clarke and Bernie Parent of the Flyers, Guy Lafleur of the Canadiens and Walter Tkaczuk and Brad Park of the Rangers were signed to endorsement contracts by Pro Department Manager Bill Vanderburg. These moves, and the introduction soon after of the TUUK chassis, ushered in a new era for the company. Then in the early 1970s, Jim Roberts, also of the Canadiens, began wearing the TUUK blade. High-profile teammates Guy Lafleur, Steve Shutt and Jacques Lemaire soon followed. By 1995, the various Canstar skate brands had a 70% NHL market share while their TUUK and ICM holders combined for a 95% share. In 1994, Bauer began producing the perforated TUUK chassis, which is the piece of equipment that connects the steel blade to the actual boot of the skate. This allowed skates to be made lighter, as well as more durable. In 1994, Canstar, the parent company of Bauer, became a wholly owned subsidiary of Nike. In 2006, beginning with the release of the Nike Bauer Supreme One90, the company's products were rebranded as Nike Bauer. This was the first time Nike had ever used a partner brand name on a product. Nike sold the company to investors Roustan, Inc. and Kohlberg & Co., on February 21, 2008 and the company was once again known as Bauer. On September 25, 2008, Bauer announced the purchase of rival Mission-Itech. Mission and Itech gear was rebranded as Bauer beginning in 2009. Timeline:
1927 Ray Charles Bauer of Kitchener starts Western Shoe Company and the Bauer Canadian Skate company.
1933 Company develops the first skate with the blade attached to boot.
1965 Bauer becomes a division of shoe giant Greb Industries.
1974 Warrington Products, controlled by Bronfman family, buys Greb.
1975 Company launches the TUUK blade holder.
1981 Ski and skate boot entrepreneur Icaro Olivieri merges his company with Warrington.
1988 Olivieri and investment group executes leveraged buyout of struggling Warrington and renames it Canstar Sports, focussing on hockey equipment.
