The $70M that Wilson Sporting Goods spent to purchase the Louisville Slugger brand from Hillerich & Bradsby last spring has been "money well spent," according to a cover story by Marty Finley of LOUISVILLE BUSINESS FIRST. Wilson GM/Baseball & Softball Jim Hackett said that the integration "has been one of the smoothest Wilson has seen in years." The company "has kept some of its field staff who sell Louisville Slugger in Louisville as a way to stay attuned to the brand and its home." Hackett added that "no one has been eliminated from the Louisville Slugger staff and that the company has added an employee or two." He said that Wilson "has been able to take the innovation H&B brought to the Louisville Slugger brand and expand upon it, spreading its reach and market awareness globally." Wilson also has "taken its talents and applied them to Louisville Slugger, rolling out a design platform that allows customers to customize souvenir and collectible bats with messages, statistics, logos and colors." The customization "will be available on actual performance bats next month." Wilson is "starting to place Louisville Slugger’s torch logo, a secondary logo designed by H&B, on its performance bats for Major League players, which Hackett said will be visible for television cameras and open up a new marketing door" (LOUISVILLE BUSINESS FIRST, 4/22 issue).
