John Gagliardi, founder and president of Maverik Lacrosse, mentioned in Fortune Magazine:
Maverik Lacrosse vs. New Balance
The challenge: Maverik, a lacrosse equipment maker, competes with New Balance, which owns two bigtime brands — Warrior and Brine. How do you persuade players to go with the upstart?
What they did: John Gagliardi, 35, co-founder and president of New York City-based Maverik, has loaded his staff with players that the kids — and coaches — know and admire (including ex-members of Team USA). Gagliardi, a former pro and Johns Hopkins legend, also taps into the booming youth market by operating camps, where he tests and showcases his products.
A cool image is also important: Maverik’s website features the top pros starring in edgy videos and offering up playing tips. Gagliardi also focuses on “lifestyle apparel” that gives the brand a “casual, cool, surf-snowboard dynamic” as opposed to the traditional prep-school vibe. He says sales were up 30% in 2009.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
NEWS & NOTES
– Bryant Univ. took 2 out of 3 of the new monthly Northeast Conference Awards.
– St. John’s concluded their 4-game road trip falling to Stony Brook 21-6 last night.
– Piedmont College is adding men’s lacrosse
– Q&A with Charley Toomey, Loyola lacrosse coach
– DePauw looks for revenge against Butler tomorrow night.
– Lots of conversation going down at 412.
– Fort Collins Unified high school out of CO gave St. Andrews in FL a run for their money on Monday.
– Teen burned in explosion returns to lacrosse field
– The Lax Guys’ National Boys’ Lacrosse Rankings
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Luck of the Irish. Happy St. Patrick’s Day people!
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Got a question, something that deserves to be seen, or a hot tip?
Drop us a line at info@lacrosseallstars.com