During my last hockey game I asked all the players about how they viewed the base layers available for athletes today. These questions consisted of both yes/no as well as free answer questions. In the end the answers that came back were quite interesting: for the average athlete they would be willing to spend 150-200 dollars for a superior base layer with the resistance technology. When it came to quality vs price, quality was chosen by 16 of 20 players. This means that people were willing to spend a higher price if quality was a greater. Overwhelmingly I received the answer that today's choices do not offer enough variety and styles. The players were unanimous in this point and this brought up a disgust for no co ours and only the standard black colour. In terms of how the shirt makes them feel, I found that it was a fairly even split between nothing at all and getting g a boost in confidence.
This idea is very interesting to me. I've played competitive hockey for the past 17 years with thousands of players and have used every piece of equipment out there. The areas that will effect my purchasing decision are:
#1. Is it comfortable? Many players don't like tight shirts, but most do. Along with comfort, will it feel good underneath my equipment, or will my elbow pads slide around because of the material?
#2. Will switching products make that much of a difference?
#3. Style; I'm picky about the style around the neck
#4. Price: Doesn't effect me because I use team issued stuff.
Some points that might help you guys out:
-Many teams don't let you wear other teams shirts, pants, etc...
-Many players don't buy there own equipment(if there playing competitively)
-Many players don't like to feel constricted. Unless they have an injury wether previous or current.
- Custom team branding is huge as well, every team has there logo, number, etc on there shirts, pants, etc...
I'm sure you know most of this stuff already but from what I can gather(I'm not entirely familiar with your business model), your product will be very expensive and very customizable. I'm very interested to see how customers validate your product too see if it's a very specific niche market or for the general population.
Thanks Coleton! That is amazing insight. We have thought about some of the points but some are new points. I never thought about the neckline as being important.