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View Full Version : Wilson buys Louisville Slugger



yanks12025
03-23-2015, 02:54 PM
Someone posted this on net54. Figured members here would like to read about it.

http://www.14news.com/story/28588688/hb-sells-louisville-slugger-brand-to-wilson-sporting-goods

danesei@yahoo.com
03-23-2015, 06:10 PM
Congratulations on the sale, Brian.

BMH
03-23-2015, 10:10 PM
Thanks I guess, it was either sell or have the bank sell it. At least this way we contain some control and keep the factory and museum going. Hopefully, the Louisville Slugger brand will now have the support and resources it needs to become what it should have been.

danesei@yahoo.com
03-24-2015, 02:22 AM
Thanks I guess, it was either sell or have the bank sell it. At least this way we contain some control and keep the factory and museum going. Hopefully, the Louisville Slugger brand will now have the support and resources it needs to become what it should have been.

It's always nice to have some say in the family legacy. That beats the bank selling any day.

EricTheRed44
03-24-2015, 02:00 PM
Brian,
Wanted to say thanks for all of the help over the past few years you've given myself and many others who were trying to add to their collections. It was always nice to be able to learn more about the specifics of the bats and be able to spot a fake. Hopefully you're able to stay involved somehow with the company. Thanks again for taking the time to help many of us out when it didn't really benefit you at all.

Thanks again and hope all is well,
Joe

admin_old
03-24-2015, 02:04 PM
Brian,
Wanted to say thanks for all of the help over the past few years you've given myself and many others who were trying to add to their collections. It was always nice to be able to learn more about the specifics of the bats and be able to spot a fake. Hopefully you're able to stay involved somehow with the company. Thanks again for taking the time to help many of us out when it didn't really benefit you at all.

Thanks again and hope all is well,
Joe

Well said, Brian, you have been great to our community. Thank you.

Doug

metsbats
03-24-2015, 04:31 PM
Congrats Brian!

Will we see the "WILSON" logo on Louisville slugger bats in the future like SAM bats had when Wilson became a distributor?

BMH
03-24-2015, 07:33 PM
Thanks for the support guys. It was not an easy decision for my family. Hell, I first learned of it while on the road in Arizona. I didn't even know we were shopping for a buyer. Between recalls, jury verdicts, bad roll outs, and forecasting failures we had worked ourselves into quite a mess. To give you an idea several years ago Nike offered us 400 million (this was what I was told) to sell and we said no. We sold LS for 70 million.
I am still employed by Hillerich & Bradsby as the Pro Bat Production Manager and model maker. Our sales reps now work for Louisville Slugger. Basically we are now the OEM for Louisville Slugger much like our suppliers of composite/metal bats were for us. It's going to take some getting used too. They now own all our brands (anything with LS in it) and our autographs. Anything in the museum is ours and we are allowed to sell LS merchandise through the museum store, just not online. That goes through Louisville Slugger.

As for branding, it will remain the same.

There are many questions still up in the air. I have already had talks with MLB about our status and insurance but have no answers. Samples, remakes, order entry errors, our mistakes and lead times have not been discussed with me. In fact I have not been involved at all in the talks. As for the information I usually supply on this site I am unsure if it's mine to give out anymore...

cjw
03-25-2015, 05:38 PM
Thanks for the support guys. It was not an easy decision for my family. Hell, I first learned of it while on the road in Arizona. I didn't even know we were shopping for a buyer. Between recalls, jury verdicts, bad roll outs, and forecasting failures we had worked ourselves into quite a mess. To give you an idea several years ago Nike offered us 400 million (this was what I was told) to sell and we said no. We sold LS for 70 million.
I am still employed by Hillerich & Bradsby as the Pro Bat Production Manager and model maker. Our sales reps now work for Louisville Slugger. Basically we are now the OEM for Louisville Slugger much like our suppliers of composite/metal bats were for us. It's going to take some getting used too. They now own all our brands (anything with LS in it) and our autographs. Anything in the museum is ours and we are allowed to sell LS merchandise through the museum store, just not online. That goes through Louisville Slugger.

As for branding, it will remain the same.

There are many questions still up in the air. I have already had talks with MLB about our status and insurance but have no answers. Samples, remakes, order entry errors, our mistakes and lead times have not been discussed with me. In fact I have not been involved at all in the talks. As for the information I usually supply on this site I am unsure if it's mine to give out anymore...

Best of luck during the sale and transition Brian. Hey, not sure if you had seen this thread on Net54, but thought that you would be the best person to answer the historical question re your company's first bats...

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?p=1385442#post1385442