Skating on Thin Ice: The Brand Extension of Reebok into the Ice-Hockey Equipment

The brand extension of Reebok into the ice-hockey market has been an interesting one. Especially in Finland, where this study was made, Reebok's brand was considered everything but masculine like the brand of the game (ice-hockey). This became a interesting base for a study on a brand extension. The study considers the effects of the extension to the original brand and to the newly extended/created brand. There are both benefits and risks to both. The research problem was: how is the brand extension of Reebok into the ice-hockey equipment market perceived by the consumers? The study method consisted first a preliminary interview and second a survey among ice-hockey players in Finland. The results of the study were highly controversial. According the survey the extension should not be very successful, on the other hand Reebok is considered as one of the market leaders. How can such an equation even be possible?