Which boot manufacturer is closing? | Page 3 | Golden Skate

Which boot manufacturer is closing?

tothepointe

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 4, 2018
And you know this for sure? Just because they just sent your boots back today for roller, doesn't mean they aren't going under completely or at least their figure skating end isn't.

Just because they are a smaller business doesn't mean they aren't on the chopping block.

The staff of Avanta used to be Klingbeil IIRC and they went under and were a small business. I know this for a fact because in my early custom days I used to wear Klingbeil.

They also launched a new social media campaign this week. Their factory is very efficient. It's not a huge facility with lots of overhead etc. They have other revenue streams like selling the rockerz blade guards, sharpening etc. They'll survive because they aren't reliant on selling stock boots or being popular other than the small niche they already serve.

Klingbeil went out of business under a different set of circumstances. Mainly because they sold to someone who was trying to use the name to become a shoe company using the Klingbeil name as cache. They expanded in too many directions and then fire or lost most of their core staff.
 

tothepointe

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 4, 2018
Yes, I've noticed how Sp-Teri is basically non-existent on social media and honestly that is such a shame. In today's day and age it is key to staying afloat! And even on their website, they could at the very least have a page featuring elite-level skaters wearing their boots... any takers to be a social media intern for them?!

I love what Harlick is doing on their instagram, especially videos/behind-the-scenes showing how they make the boots. If SP-Teri had done similar videos and interacted with followers... I don't know. Hard to speculate, and I don't want to say that this is all because of not being active on social media.

Re: lightweight, interesting that they would say that, because I'm pretty sure Sp-Teri does offer several "lightweight" modifications on stock/custom boots last time I checked their website. (But of course a Sp-Teri "lightweight" boot is still much heavier than an Edea. But for a good reason: quality / natural materials.)

Social media is definately a very important tool for small companies like Harlick. It helps reinforce their storybranding. The idea that your buying oldworld craftmenship made for the modern world. You feel connected to the people making the boots and thus that reinforces your connection to the brand. This is especially important in getting the customer to buy into the idea of paying more and waiting longer to get their product.

Of course if SP-Teri is closing finances might not be the primary reason. It might be as simple as the owner not wanting to continue or the craftsman equivilent of brain drain.
 

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Country
Olympics
They also launched a new social media campaign this week. Their factory is very efficient. It's not a huge facility with lots of overhead etc. They have other revenue streams like selling the rockerz blade guards, sharpening etc. They'll survive because they aren't reliant on selling stock boots or being popular other than the small niche they already serve.

Klingbeil went out of business under a different set of circumstances. Mainly because they sold to someone who was trying to use the name to become a shoe company using the Klingbeil name as cache. They expanded in too many directions and then fire or lost most of their core staff.

Which is interesting because that"s not their invention. Other companies offer them as well.
 

Nimyue

On the Ice
Joined
May 15, 2018
There is one middle-aged freestyle coach at my rink who wears Edeas but otherwise I'd say almost all the coaches are outspoken in their dislike for Edeas. A fair amount of our coaches are in Sp-Teris and Harlicks, sticking to the classics.

Same at mine all our coaches are in SP Teri's and one coach is in Harlick. Such a shame. I tried harlicks and they didn't work for me. I'm in a custom Jackson now. But I still want to fly out to Harlick and try having them make something for me again. The Jackson last fits my feet perfectly, but I can tell they won't last like the Harlicks would have. The materials used in Harlicks are just so much better. There is very little padding in the Jackson elite, and they probably won't last me more than 18 months. The harlicks probably would have lasted twice that long at least.
 

Sibelius

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 28, 2017
Re: lightweight, interesting that they would say that, because I'm pretty sure Sp-Teri does offer several "lightweight" modifications on stock/custom boots last time I checked their website. (But of course a Sp-Teri "lightweight" boot is still much heavier than an Edea. But for a good reason: quality / natural materials.)

Yeah, We looked at their lightest weight boot and it's still heavy, and that's by design. They insist that the weight is necessary and beneficial, and they don't offer any plastic or carbon fiber soles like Jackson and Harlick do to reduce the weight. I know my skater has gotten used to the lighter weight Jackson with the microfiber upper and plastic sole. I don't think she would adjust to a heavier boot very easily.
 

katia2332

Spectator
Joined
Apr 3, 2019
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.

It is SP-Teri that is closing as of now. I just spoke to George Spiteri. He said he has just announced that he is planning to retire. The company is getting rid of machines that are old and no longer necessary but will most likely keep manufacturing boots for the rest of this year (they will stop manufacturing boots in 2020). Next year, they will still provide blade mounting/sharpening/repair services. I did not ask him what would potentially happen beyond next year. Apparently he seems to have no heir to the business--he said there are two parties interested in potentially buying the business but that nobody has come up with monetary offers. He said the company may get acquired but may not--he just does not know right now.

As for Avanta, I emailed them but have yet to hear back. They have deleted a lot of their prior Instagram posts, so if they are closing, I would not be surprised either. At my rink, nobody who tried them (two of my training mates and two coaches) has liked them--one of my training mates returned her skates in two weeks for a total refund and went back to Risport, and another training mate's skates broke down in less than six months (her Harlicks lasted three years)--she went to Jackson.

Maybe they both are closing...but the only place that gave me real confirmation was SP-Teri as of this moment. I may follow up with Avanta tomorrow.

Hope this helps everyone.
 

Sibelius

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 28, 2017
It is SP-Teri that is closing as of now. I just spoke to George Spiteri. He said he has just announced that he is planning to retire. The company is getting rid of machines that are old and no longer necessary but will most likely keep manufacturing boots for the rest of this year (they will stop manufacturing boots in 2020). Next year, they will still provide blade mounting/sharpening/repair services. I did not ask him what would potentially happen beyond next year. Apparently he seems to have no heir to the business--he said there are two parties interested in potentially buying the business but that nobody has come up with monetary offers. He said the company may get acquired but may not--he just does not know right now.

As for Avanta, I emailed them but have yet to hear back. They have deleted a lot of their prior Instagram posts, so if they are closing, I would not be surprised either. At my rink, nobody who tried them (two of my training mates and two coaches) has liked them--one of my training mates returned her skates in two weeks for a total refund and went back to Risport, and another training mate's skates broke down in less than six months (her Harlicks lasted three years)--she went to Jackson.

Maybe they both are closing...but the only place that gave me real confirmation was SP-Teri as of this moment. I may follow up with Avanta tomorrow.

Hope this helps everyone.

Thanks so much for confirming. Crud. Just not what we needed. Good for George for retiring while he can enjoy it though.
 

katia2332

Spectator
Joined
Apr 3, 2019
Thanks so much for confirming. Crud. Just not what we needed. Good for George for retiring while he can enjoy it though. I'd

You're welcome. Yeah--I'm a little sad about it too. I've been a Harlick girl for 14 years, and SP-Teri was always my go-to backup if Harlick someday were to go out of business. But it looks like Harlick is in good shape and will be around for a while.

I just sent Avanta a follow-up email, but I am not right now in a place where I can make calls. If someone else wants to call, they are open until 7 Pacific Time tonight.
 

Sibelius

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 28, 2017
You're welcome. Yeah--I'm a little sad about it too. I've been a Harlick girl for 14 years, and SP-Teri was always my go-to backup if Harlick someday were to go out of business. But it looks like Harlick is in good shape and will be around for a while.

I just sent Avanta a follow-up email, but I am not right now in a place where I can make calls. If someone else wants to call, they are open until 7 Pacific Time tonight.

We just started going to Sp-Teri last year, still hadn't had her fitted in their boots, George kept her in her Jacksons for now. Kind of how we knew we were in the right place when he said she didn't need his boots just yet (she would have been a full custom, so $$$). I guess we'll go back and have George refit her in the next Jacksons up the line for now. It wouldn't make sense to get her into Sp-Teri's then have to switch.

We also visited Harlick at the same time last year (who were great at her fitting), but we just felt better with George. At least we're local and have the choice, and San Carlos is a bit easier to get to than SSF (well, now that I know how to find Harlick!) And, I have to say Harlicks have some nice choices that George didn't offer, mainly the lightweight sole option, and a little more bling.
 

Sam L

Medalist
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
I feel very lucky I’m a Risport boy. I’ll be devastated if they stopped manufacturing.
 

tothepointe

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 4, 2018
It is SP-Teri that is closing as of now. I just spoke to George Spiteri. He said he has just announced that he is planning to retire. The company is getting rid of machines that are old and no longer necessary but will most likely keep manufacturing boots for the rest of this year (they will stop manufacturing boots in 2020). Next year, they will still provide blade mounting/sharpening/repair services. I did not ask him what would potentially happen beyond next year. Apparently he seems to have no heir to the business--he said there are two parties interested in potentially buying the business but that nobody has come up with monetary offers. He said the company may get acquired but may not--he just does not know right now.

As for Avanta, I emailed them but have yet to hear back. They have deleted a lot of their prior Instagram posts, so if they are closing, I would not be surprised either. At my rink, nobody who tried them (two of my training mates and two coaches) has liked them--one of my training mates returned her skates in two weeks for a total refund and went back to Risport, and another training mate's skates broke down in less than six months (her Harlicks lasted three years)--she went to Jackson.

Maybe they both are closing...but the only place that gave me real confirmation was SP-Teri as of this moment. I may follow up with Avanta tomorrow.

Hope this helps everyone.

I suspected this might be the case. I attempted to try and learn how to make shoes several years ago and there is such a great learning curve before you can make something that doesn't kill your feet. Skating boots are 10x more complicated than shoes from a fit perspective. If someone was to take over the business they would have needed to start training 5+ years ago. It's something I'd LOVE to do but there is no way to acquire the knowledge needed anymore in an efficient amount of time.
 

Nimyue

On the Ice
Joined
May 15, 2018
It is SP-Teri that is closing as of now. I just spoke to George Spiteri. He said he has just announced that he is planning to retire. The company is getting rid of machines that are old and no longer necessary but will most likely keep manufacturing boots for the rest of this year (they will stop manufacturing boots in 2020). Next year, they will still provide blade mounting/sharpening/repair services. I did not ask him what would potentially happen beyond next year. Apparently he seems to have no heir to the business--he said there are two parties interested in potentially buying the business but that nobody has come up with monetary offers. He said the company may get acquired but may not--he just does not know right now.

As for Avanta, I emailed them but have yet to hear back. They have deleted a lot of their prior Instagram posts, so if they are closing, I would not be surprised either. At my rink, nobody who tried them (two of my training mates and two coaches) has liked them--one of my training mates returned her skates in two weeks for a total refund and went back to Risport, and another training mate's skates broke down in less than six months (her Harlicks lasted three years)--she went to Jackson.

Maybe they both are closing...but the only place that gave me real confirmation was SP-Teri as of this moment. I may follow up with Avanta tomorrow.

Hope this helps everyone.

Super glad it's because he's retiring rather than closing for financial reason.
 

katia2332

Spectator
Joined
Apr 3, 2019
It is SP-Teri that is closing as of now. I just spoke to George Spiteri. He said he has just announced that he is planning to retire. The company is getting rid of machines that are old and no longer necessary but will most likely keep manufacturing boots for the rest of this year (they will stop manufacturing boots in 2020). Next year, they will still provide blade mounting/sharpening/repair services. I did not ask him what would potentially happen beyond next year. Apparently he seems to have no heir to the business--he said there are two parties interested in potentially buying the business but that nobody has come up with monetary offers. He said the company may get acquired but may not--he just does not know right now.

As for Avanta, I emailed them but have yet to hear back. They have deleted a lot of their prior Instagram posts, so if they are closing, I would not be surprised either. At my rink, nobody who tried them (two of my training mates and two coaches) has liked them--one of my training mates returned her skates in two weeks for a total refund and went back to Risport, and another training mate's skates broke down in less than six months (her Harlicks lasted three years)--she went to Jackson.

Maybe they both are closing...but the only place that gave me real confirmation was SP-Teri as of this moment. I may follow up with Avanta tomorrow.

Hope this helps everyone.

As a follow up to my post from yesterday, a representative of Avanta told me this afternoon that Avanta is staying open. So it is only SP-Teri that is closing (unless of course someone buys them).
 

Sibelius

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 28, 2017
As a follow up to my post from yesterday, a representative of Avanta told me this afternoon that Avanta is staying open. So it is only SP-Teri that is closing (unless of course someone buys them).

Thanks for the update. Avanta is a curiosity to me. They are located across the Bay from me in Hayward, where I grew up (it is not a bastion of wealth, or really of anything). My daughter skates at two of the major rinks in the area and we have NEVER seen an Avanta boot in the wild. Beautiful looking photos, but not one at our rinks. I'd really be hesitant about them as far as my skater (not just at the cost) but the uncertainty of their future. Not to mention the unprofessional behavior last year (a bit on both sided of the Chen incident as I recall). So, for now we'll ask George to fit her in a Jackson, either Premier or a softened custom Elite. Harlick will be the backup for us now. I have on my calendar a visit for a sharpening in the next couple of weeks so I'll see what he has to say about what's best. Still sad, and completely unexpected, but we will skate on.
 

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Country
Olympics
Thanks for the update. Avanta is a curiosity to me. They are located across the Bay from me in Hayward, where I grew up (it is not a bastion of wealth, or really of anything). My daughter skates at two of the major rinks in the area and we have NEVER seen an Avanta boot in the wild. Beautiful looking photos, but not one at our rinks. I'd really be hesitant about them as far as my skater (not just at the cost) but the uncertainty of their future. Not to mention the unprofessional behavior last year (a bit on both sided of the Chen incident as I recall). So, for now we'll ask George to fit her in a Jackson, either Premier or a softened custom Elite. Harlick will be the backup for us now. I have on my calendar a visit for a sharpening in the next couple of weeks so I'll see what he has to say about what's best. Still sad, and completely unexpected, but we will skate on.

Just out of curiosity: Have you had your daughter fitted or trial fitted in a Harlick yet? I ask out of concern because as someone who fits a Jackson well myself, my foot does not work with Harlick whatsoever. Reason I went to Risport. Just a heads up. ;)
 

Sibelius

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 28, 2017
Just out of curiosity: Have you had your daughter fitted or trial fitted in a Harlick yet? I ask out of concern because as someone who fits a Jackson well myself, my foot does not work with Harlick whatsoever. Reason I went to Risport. Just a heads up. ;)

Yes, we visited them before we went to Sp-Teri. They took all her measurements and tracings, but at the time the stock boots they had available weren't close to fitting. She was unenthused, and I wasn't thrilled with the prospect of spending so much on an unknown when the Jacksons just fit. I also had fresh in my mind a mother who had her daughter custom fit in a Harlick (moving from a Jackson bought at the pro shop at our rink), and she just wasn't the same skater afterwards. She was so angry she spent so much and it didn't work.

When we visited with George and he thought it best to keep her in Jacksons for a bit longer we were much more comfortable with that. His boots are also closer to the Jackson last than not, so at least we felt that the change wouldn't be as dramatic when the time came.

Her coach agrees that it's best we get George to fit her in the next Jackson, whether stock, "rapid custom" or full custom we don't know yet. I know Jackson has some sort of new 3D scanning technology fitting device coming out. Our previous fitter is visiting the factory soon to see it in action.

I keep thinking Jacksons fit, why do we need anything else? It's hard separating the status symbol aspect of the Harlicks/Sp-Teri's from the boot as equipment, especially where we live and where she skates.
 

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Country
Olympics
Yes, we visited them before we went to Sp-Teri. They took all her measurements and tracings, but at the time the stock boots they had available weren't close to fitting. She was unenthused, and I wasn't thrilled with the prospect of spending so much on an unknown when the Jacksons just fit. I also had fresh in my mind a mother who had her daughter custom fit in a Harlick (moving from a Jackson bought at the pro shop at our rink), and she just wasn't the same skater afterwards. She was so angry she spent so much and it didn't work.

When we visited with George and he thought it best to keep her in Jacksons for a bit longer we were much more comfortable with that. His boots are also closer to the Jackson last than not, so at least we felt that the change wouldn't be as dramatic when the time came.

Her coach agrees that it's best we get George to fit her in the next Jackson, whether stock, "rapid custom" or full custom we don't know yet. I know Jackson has some sort of new 3D scanning technology fitting device coming out. Our previous fitter is visiting the factory soon to see it in action.

I keep thinking Jacksons fit, why do we need anything else? It's hard separating the status symbol aspect of the Harlicks/Sp-Teri's from the boot as equipment, especially where we live and where she skates.

Okay, I just wanted to make sure, so you didn't have the issue I did down the road. But I agree, there is no reason to move her from Jackson if they work.
 

tothepointe

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 4, 2018
Thanks for the update. Avanta is a curiosity to me. They are located across the Bay from me in Hayward, where I grew up (it is not a bastion of wealth, or really of anything). My daughter skates at two of the major rinks in the area and we have NEVER seen an Avanta boot in the wild. Beautiful looking photos, but not one at our rinks. I'd really be hesitant about them as far as my skater (not just at the cost) but the uncertainty of their future. Not to mention the unprofessional behavior last year (a bit on both sided of the Chen incident as I recall). So, for now we'll ask George to fit her in a Jackson, either Premier or a softened custom Elite. Harlick will be the backup for us now. I have on my calendar a visit for a sharpening in the next couple of weeks so I'll see what he has to say about what's best. Still sad, and completely unexpected, but we will skate on.

Yes even at my rink I think I'm the only skater in them. Getting fitted in person is a little bit of a hassle. For informational purposes I was in Jacksons prior to getting them and in retrospect I probably didn't need customs so much as I needed PT to correct my knee valgus. Though the boots helped a lot. They do offer to meet you at a local rink for blade alignment once the boots are made but I ended up not needing it and I couldn't make it back into the area anyways.


They do warranty them for 2 seasons which is the main reason I chose them over Harlick and they do want them back after the first season so they can do maintance/rebuild as necessary. In the end I saved because they covered putting on a new sole and heel so I could use them for quads so I got the value of what I paid for them. Perfect for doing the figure circles on quads.

Sounds like a sales pitch I know but I've also been happy with Riedell and Jackson but the boots didn't last long enough for me and I was buying 2-3 pairs per year.
 

Sam L

Medalist
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Just out of curiosity: Have you had your daughter fitted or trial fitted in a Harlick yet? I ask out of concern because as someone who fits a Jackson well myself, my foot does not work with Harlick whatsoever. Reason I went to Risport. Just a heads up. ;)

Just out of curiosity, Jackson and Risport are very different though so how does both work for you?
 

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Country
Olympics
Just out of curiosity, Jackson and Risport are very different though so how does both work for you?

I wear a semi custom risport dance boot and custom Jackson singles boot.

They aren't that different. not like Harlick and Jackson are for example.

And even when I used to fit in both stock, it still worked.

There are many elite skaters that have gone between Jackson, Risport and Riedell with no issue.
 
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