Cuda Buffalo Puts the "Shock" in Shock Apparel
Shawn and Lori Mosqueda
Monday April 10, 2006
Zane Troester, Spokane native and general manager of Cuda Buffalo Apparel, has been involved with designing Shock apparel from the very beginning. However, when first approached by the Shock to handle the apparel products, Troester was somewhat skeptical.
Troester explained, "Over time, we did the Golden Hawks, the Nightmare. We went through all those and they fell flat on their face. The reason is, first and foremost, they were outdoor football and a weird time of the year. Nobody got that excited about it. We got burned before. We did not decide to do it until I started hearing the season ticket numbers. We realized at that point this could be a pretty good opportunity."
Troester understands how the fans in Spokane react from his time being involved with marketing for the Spokane Chiefs. However, Troester was not prepared for exactly how successful the Shock was going to be in achieving a fan base. He believes the Shock has something very special in the fans of Spokane.
Troester and the folks at Cuda Buffalo are very excited about the opportunity to help the Shock offer well over 500 embroidered and screen printed products through their newly created e-stores. The Shock can have as many products as they want on their e-store without having to stock products, deal with shipping, or handle the up front costs associated with branded products because Cuda Buffalo handles it all for them. The e-stores will also allow the Shock (and other organizations) to sell products one piece at a time, nationwide, without dealing with any of the hassles associated with merchandising.
When asked about their arrangement with Cuda Buffalo, Kevin Maloney, Director of Communications and Group Sales for the Spokane Shock, said, "What is nice about Cuda is they can create and store the merchandise. That really allows for a lot of flexibility. Cuda has made their own name around town by doing all of Gonzaga’s merchandise, which is really what caught our attention and why we wanted them to help us out with those merchandising efforts."
Eventually, you will be able to purchase just about anything with the Shock logo, including authentic replica jerseys, the new "Shock on the butt" sweat pants and Shock underwear. Zane also welcomes any Shock apparel design ideas from the fans. If you have an idea, please contact Troester at 1-888-792-4278 or zanet@cudaapparel.com.
Don’t worry about Cuda Buffalo not being able to keep up with demand, either. They are used to the frenzy of fans as well as the fickleness of the Spokane market. In addition to the Spokane Shock, they also have licenses to handle Eastern Washington, Gonzaga, Washington State, and the Spokane Skyhawks, to name just a few.
If you haven’t purchased your navy blue game day shirt for this Saturday’s game against the Everett Hawks, check out www.cudaapparel.com/spokane_shock.php or www.spokaneshock.com. Saturday is sure to be another electrifying game!
Shawn and Lori with their children Kaiden and Moriah live in beautiful Coeur D'Alene, Idaho. Suffering from football withdrawals, the two diehard Seahawk fans found out that a new team was coming to town, the "Spokane Shock". Shawn and Lori are excited to cover the team as new sportswriters and new fans of Arena Football (you just can't beat year round football). GO SHOCK!!!
Shawn is in the process of completing and publishing an ebook entitled "The Complete HTPC Guide: Everyone's Guide To Building A Home Theater PC". Shawn has a structured wiring company where he helps homeowners create automated homes through the use of home electronics and computers.
Lori is an aspiring children's writer. After years of being an accomplished QA Analyst for a cutting edge software manufacturer, she now enjoys spending her time with her family and writing.
Shawn is in the process of completing and publishing an ebook entitled "The Complete HTPC Guide: Everyone's Guide To Building A Home Theater PC". Shawn has a structured wiring company where he helps homeowners create automated homes through the use of home electronics and computers.
Lori is an aspiring children's writer. After years of being an accomplished QA Analyst for a cutting edge software manufacturer, she now enjoys spending her time with her family and writing.
