Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, January 17, 1995                   TAG: 9501170148
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MATT CROWDER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

STRIKE, LOCKOUT CRIMP SALES OF SPORTS ITEMS

Tultex Corp., a Martinsville maker of leisure wear, saw an 11 percent drop in revenue in last year's final quarter for its Logo 7 unit, a company that makes clothing licensed by major professional and collegiate sports. The decline was against sales for the fourth quarter of 1993. A Tultex official attributed the drop directly to the professional hockey lockout and ongoing baseball players' strike.

``Retailers are not going to take goods that they're not going to sell,'' said Kathy Rogers, Tultex spokeswoman. ``If there's no baseball or hockey, they're going to be hesitant to take goods with those decorations on them.

``There's an impact whenever there's a strike or a lockout.''

Even though a shortened, 48-game hockey season is to start Friday, Rogers does not expect Tultex's business for sportswear with team markings to pick up immediately.

``I doubt if we'll really see an increase in hockey sales until the second half of 1995, when the next hockey season starts,'' Rogers said. ``Retailers have already taken what they're going to take for the first half of 1995.''

Despite the decrease in Logo 7 revenue, Tultex saw an increase of about 5.5 percent in overall revenue for the fourth quarter from 1993 because of an 18 percent increase in active-wear sales. Tultex reported revenue of $563 million for fiscal 1994, up from $533.6 million for 1993.

Tultex employs about 2,300 people in Martinsville.

Despite Tultex's experience, John Oberlin, manager of Champ's Sports at Valley View Mall, said that sales of hockey merchandise have stayed pretty steady throughout the lockout.