The Hockey Card Industry: Competition for Market Share

Hockey cards have been around for a long time. The first hockey cards were included in cigarette packages from 1910 to 1913. After World War I, only one more cigarette set was issued, during the 1924-25 season by Champ's Cigarettes. Through to 1941, O-Pee-Chee printed hockey cards, stopping production for World War II. Toronto's Parkhurst Products Company began printing cards in 1951, followed by Brooklyn's Topps Chewing Gum in 1954-1955. O-Pee-Chee and Topps did not produce cards in 1955 or 1956, but returned for 1957-58.

So now we have a bit of history of when hockey cards started production and what companies had been involved. We see names that we recognize such as Parkhurst, O-Pee-Chee, Champs and Topps. What has occurred in the industry since the beginning of hockey card production for these product companies? We have seen over the years many different brands of cards. Parkhurst had its heyday in the 1950’s. In the early 1960s, Topps and Parkhurst battled for team rights to produce cards. Parkhurst left the market in 1963-64 leaving only Topps to produce cards. O-Pee-Chee came into the market in 1968 and joined forces with Topps to produce hockey cards. Topps would sell to the US market, while O-Pee-Chee had the Canadian market. They continued being the only hockey card producers until the hockey card explosion of the early 1990’s.

The explosion in the 1990’s was a tumultuous time for hockey cards. We immediately saw an oversaturation of the hockey card market and several new brands started to appear out of nowhere. We say brands like Score, Pro-Set, Upper Deck, Pinnacle, Pacific and Fleer hit the market hard, producing several different products to compete with O-Pee-Chee and Topps. This had an extremely negative impact on the market as a whole and collectors started to lose interest in a market that seemed to have lost its value. Companies started producing fewer products and eventually none at all. The 1990’s were not good times for the hockey card market. A few companies were left behind to produce hockey cards up until the NHL lockout season. They included Upper Deck, Pacific, Topps, and In The Game.

After the National Hockey League lockout that wiped out the 2004-05 NHL season, the hockey card market changed dramatically. Prior to the lockout, Upper Deck, Pacific, Topps and In The Game Trading Cards were all licensed by the NHL and NHLPA to produce trading cards featuring NHL players and logos. After the lockout, Upper Deck emerged with an exclusive contract from both parties. Upper Deck paid a lot of money for this type of monopoly of the market. Without licensing, Topps simply did not produce hockey cards. Pacific went out of business, its last set was produced just prior to the lockout season. In The Game continued to produce hockey cards without NHL and NHLPA licensing. They signed current and retired NHL players to individual contracts, allowing the use of their likenesses and autographs. In The Game also signed licensing deals with the CHL, the AHL and Hockey Canada to use players and logos from these organizations in their products.

In present day, we see only two main companies controlling the hockey card market. They are of course In The Game and Upper Deck. Upper Deck controls the licensing of current NHLers and the NHL while In The Game focuses more on retirees and prospects. Upper Deck has been on a feeding frenzy in the past years buying company identities such as Parkhurst, O-Pee-Chee, Fleer, and Champs. They are currently using the names to produce products, but they are all licensed by Upper Deck. In The Game has been very creative with the market they have and are producing some interesting products which have gained cult recognition. Topps has slowly been creeping back into the market producing a product to be released this year. As collector’s, we don’t like to see this type of monopoly and segregation in the market. There is always hope that in time, more companies will emerge that are able to get licensing and we can have some competition in the market for quality cards. For the time being though, nothing will change anytime soon.

Are you looking for hockey hobby boxes? Welcome to Canada Card World, we offer the most competitive prices in Canada for the boxes you love! Please check us out! Thanks!

http://www.canadacardworld.com

Please click for Canada Card World


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	Home - Site Map - This Site Is For Sale The Hockey Card Industry: Competition for Market Share Hockey cards have been around for a long time. The first hockey cards were included in cigarette packages from 1910 to 1913. After World War I, only one more cigarette set was issued, during the 1924-25 season by Champ's Cigarettes. Through to 1941, O-Pee-Chee printed hockey cards, stopping production for World War II. Toronto's Parkhurst Products Company began printing cards in 1951, followed by Brooklyn's Topps Chewing Gum in 1954-1955. O-Pee-Chee and Topps did not produce cards in 1955 or 1956, but returned for 1957-58. So now we have a bit of history of when hockey cards started production and what companies had been involved. We see names that we recognize such as Parkhurst, O-Pee-Chee, Champs and Topps. What has occurred in the industry since the beginning of hockey card production for these product companies? We have seen over the years many different brands of cards. Parkhurst had its heyday in the 1950’s. In the early 1960s, Topps and Parkhurst battled for team rights to produce cards. Parkhurst left the market in 1963-64 leaving only Topps to produce cards. O-Pee-Chee came into the market in 1968 and joined forces with Topps to produce hockey cards. Topps would sell to the US market, while O-Pee-Chee had the Canadian market. They continued being the only hockey card producers until the hockey card explosion of the early 1990’s. The explosion in the 1990’s was a tumultuous time for hockey cards. We immediately saw an oversaturation of the hockey card market and several new brands started to appear out of nowhere. We say brands like Score, Pro-Set, Upper Deck, Pinnacle, Pacific and Fleer hit the market hard, producing several different products to compete with O-Pee-Chee and Topps. This had an extremely negative impact on the market as a whole and collectors started to lose interest in a market that seemed to have lost its value. Companies started producing fewer products and eventually none at all. The 1990’s were not good times for the hockey card market. A few companies were left behind to produce hockey cards up until the NHL lockout season. They included Upper Deck, Pacific, Topps, and In The Game. After the National Hockey League lockout that wiped out the 2004-05 NHL season, the hockey card market changed dramatically. Prior to the lockout, Upper Deck, Pacific, Topps and In The Game Trading Cards were all licensed by the NHL and NHLPA to produce trading cards featuring NHL players and logos. After the lockout, Upper Deck emerged with an exclusive contract from both parties. Upper Deck paid a lot of money for this type of monopoly of the market. Without licensing, Topps simply did not produce hockey cards. Pacific went out of business, its last set was produced just prior to the lockout season. In The Game continued to produce hockey cards without NHL and NHLPA licensing. They signed current and retired NHL players to individual contracts, allowing the use of their likenesses and autographs. In The Game also signed licensing deals with the CHL, the AHL and Hockey Canada to use players and logos from these organizations in their products. In present day, we see only two main companies controlling the hockey card market. They are of course In The Game and Upper Deck. Upper Deck controls the licensing of current NHLers and the NHL while In The Game focuses more on retirees and prospects. Upper Deck has been on a feeding frenzy in the past years buying company identities such as Parkhurst, O-Pee-Chee, Fleer, and Champs. They are currently using the names to produce products, but they are all licensed by Upper Deck. In The Game has been very creative with the market they have and are producing some interesting products which have gained cult recognition. Topps has slowly been creeping back into the market producing a product to be released this year. As collector’s, we don’t like to see this type of monopoly and segregation in the market. There is always hope that in time, more companies will emerge that are able to get licensing and we can have some competition in the market for quality cards. For the time being though, nothing will change anytime soon. Are you looking for hockey hobby boxes? Welcome to Canada Card World, we offer the most competitive prices in Canada for the boxes you love! Please check us out! 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