Which boot manufacturer is closing? | Golden Skate

Which boot manufacturer is closing?

sandraskates

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 31, 2006
Country
United-States
You beat me to the question! My coach showed me that Instagram today but we don't know who it is either.
 

vlaurend

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 14, 2008
The Harlick Instagram account had a curious post - saying they are NOT closing even though another manufacturer had recently "announced" they were closing.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bvhwj0Hjny-/

does anyone know which one is actually closing?

They posted the same message on their Facebook page. I politely asked which of their competitors was closing (since they claimed the competitor had "announced" they were closing, it doesn't need to be kept confidential, right?). Not only did I not get an answer, but it looks like they deleted my question.
 

bostonskaterguy86

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 3, 2018
Country
United-States
I saw somewhere that they’d posted a comment that it was “another Bay Area manufacturer,” which would suggest SP-Teri or Avanta? But now I can’t seem to find that comment ... very strange.

ETA: Found it - it was a reply to a comment on their Instagram post.
 
Last edited:

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Country
Olympics
My best guess is Avanta. After all of the fallout from last season with Karen, that brought bad PR.

I'm not saying I know this for sure at all, but SPTeri isn't on the radar for being the one to possibly close, and it would make no sense after being a top skate business for years.
 

Sibelius

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 28, 2017
My best guess is Avanta. After all of the fallout from last season with Karen, that brought bad PR.

I'm not saying I know this for sure at all, but SPTeri isn't on the radar for being the one to possibly close, and it would make no sense after being a top skate business for years.

Re: Sp-Teri, I was there a couple of weeks ago and no hint of anything like closing. Custom orders stacked high waiting to be picked up, they're mobile sharpening business is going gangbusters (except our rink won't allow them to do it!) and George told me to bring my skater back in July for her next fitting. It would be a total shock if it were going to happen that's for sure.
 

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Country
Olympics
Re: Sp-Teri, I was there a couple of weeks ago and no hint of anything like closing. Custom orders stacked high waiting to be picked up, they're mobile sharpening business is going gangbusters (except our rink won't allow them to do it!) and George told me to bring my skater back in July for her next fitting. It would be a total shock if it were going to happen that's for sure.

For sure. That's why my best guess is Avanta.
 

tstop4me

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 2, 2015
Country
United-States
I did a web search on skating boot companies going out of business. The hits were primarily old news concerning the previous demise of Klingbeil and Graf Canada; nothing current. This scenario does not place Harlick in a good light. If they were concerned about rumors negatively affecting their business, they could simply have posted something along the lines of, "News of our demise is premature. We are alive and well, and here to stay."; and leave it at that. If in fact a competitor has announced that they are closing, then Harlick should be able to provide a citation. But, since they are shying away from that, one possible suspicion is that they want to make potential customers deliberately nervous about doing business with a competitor who (falsely) is about to close, and turn to Harlick instead. That would be a page out of a dirty political playbook.

On another forum, one skater (who has problematic feet) has posted about her continuing struggles trying to find a proper fitting boot, including multiple iterations on a pair of customs from one manufacturer, ultimately culminating in $$$ down the drain. She has recently finally achieved nirvana with a pair of custom Avantas, and reported a highly positive overall customer experience with them. I'm hoping that all the existing boot companies [including newcomer Aura, and, oh what the heck, even Edea :)] thrive and that new companies come on board. I welcome competition and diversity of designs.
 

DanseMacabre

Final Flight
Joined
May 27, 2018
Country
Iceland
My best guess is Avanta. After all of the fallout from last season with Karen, that brought bad PR.

I'm not saying I know this for sure at all, but SPTeri isn't on the radar for being the one to possibly close, and it would make no sense after being a top skate business for years.

Avanta was my first thought too. Can't say I'd be terribly surprised.
 

Clarice

Rinkside
Joined
Mar 26, 2005
GAM, according to a Facebook page I follow. Someone posted that her new skates had just arrived, and were probably the last pair of GAMs that would be made.
 

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Country
Olympics
GAM, according to a Facebook page I follow. Someone posted that her new skates had just arrived, and were probably the last pair of GAMs that would be made.

Gam is owned by Jackson and has been for awhile.
 

tstop4me

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 2, 2015
Country
United-States
GAM, according to a Facebook page I follow. Someone posted that her new skates had just arrived, and were probably the last pair of GAMs that would be made.
Even assuming that Jackson did phase out the GAM line, it's a Canadian company, not based in California.
 

bunnybarista

If I risk it all, could you break my fall?~
On the Ice
Joined
May 27, 2018
It's apparently SP-Teri that's closing, though I'm unsure right now if someone else is buying them out or if they're shutting down entirely. I'm hoping for the former. (This is according to several high-level coaches at my rink.) I wear SP-Teri boots myself and will be very sad if this is the end for them.
 

Sibelius

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 28, 2017
It's apparently SP-Teri that's closing, though I'm unsure right now if someone else is buying them out or if they're shutting down entirely. I'm hoping for the former. (This is according to several high-level coaches at my rink.) I wear SP-Teri boots myself and will be very sad if this is the end for them.


That will be a total shock. As I said above we were there just a few weeks ago and they were going all out on all fronts. I hope nothing is wrong with George or Aaron.

I do know that there was some instability at one of the rinks here. They were being sued by someone under the ADA for not having accommodations. It was thought that they were going to close, but the suit has been settled and they are closing for renovations over the summer to comply. George's wife is a coach at the rink, so maybe that has something to do with it. I guess we'll know soon enough. Very sad if it's the case.
 

sandraskates

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 31, 2006
Country
United-States
That will be a total shock. As I said above we were there just a few weeks ago and they were going all out on all fronts. I hope nothing is wrong with George or Aaron.

Hey Sibelius, in another posted you mentioned seeing Golden Horse boots at SP Teri, as they worked with that company.
Maybe they will partner or merge.

Gosh, although I'm a Harlick girl, I'd sure hate to see SP Teri go out. However, both companies are challenged by the new boot competitors.
 
Top