In Genesee County, Perani’s Hockey World stands as the go-to destination for hockey equipment. It is a Flint institution founded decades ago by former Flint Generals goaltender, Bob Perani.
The Origins of a Hockey Legend
Bob Perani was born in Rome, Italy, and moved with his family to Canada at the age of nine. According to his son Robert, now vice president of the company, this is where he was first exposed to the game of hockey. “Everyone plays hockey in Canada,” Robert recalls his father saying. All of the kids in his father’s neighborhood played on the street or the pond.
“They put him in the net because he was the littlest,” says his son, thus began Bob’s love of goaltending. Bob also played briefly in the National Hockey League for the Los Angeles Kings and for the American Hockey League’s Springfield Kings in Springfield, MA, then on the International Hockey League team in Muskegon.
He and his wife, Kris, moved to Flint on New Year’s Day in 1969 when Bob became the goalie for the Flint Generals. The couple had two children, Robert and Lahna.
From Pizza to Hockey: The Birth of a Business
While playing for the Generals in 1974, Bob pursued his first business venture, Perani’s Pizza. Four years later, he opened Bob Perani’s Sport Shop, which was located on Davison Road. Initially a general sporting goods store, it quickly transformed into a specialty store with a focus on hockey equipment, explained Robert. “Hockey was beginning to grow,” says Kevin Ward, Robert’s brother-in-law and Perani’s president/COO.
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Expansion and Growth
Over the past 30 years, the company has grown to include 20 retail stores in North America, and their web and catalog company has grown to one of the largest in the country. With well over 100,000 square feet of warehouse space, Perani's Hockey World is one of the largest web-based retailers of hockey equipment in the world.
The Perani's Hockey World retail stores still draw customers from across the country, including the 40,000 square foot Livonia Superstore.
You can find information about those stores and more of a background on Perani's Hockey World at www.peranis.com, or simply click on the "Store Locations" link at the top or bottom of this page to find a retail location near you.
Community Involvement and Customer Service
Customer service is important to the employees of Perani’s Hockey World. The store employs a staff of 12, each and every one of whom is passionate and knowledgeable about hockey and has been involved with the sport on some level. Perani’s Hockey World is very active in the local hockey community, providing sponsorship of a variety of teams.
“We sponsor local associations like the Tecumseh Eagles, Windsor Junior Spitfires, LaSalle Sabres and Riverside Rangers,” says Lauwereys.
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People like Coughlin, who’s worked at the store for the past four years and played for the Riverside Rangers, Chatham Maroons and Junior Spitfires. “We have a lot of knowledge of the products that we sell,” says Lauwereys.
Perani's has serviced many future professional players including Mike Modano - who bought his first pair of skates from the company's Lakeland Arena store - and even at one time briefly employed former All-Star Pat Lafontaine when he was a teenager.
From Wooden Sticks to High Tech Gear
Perani's Hockey World Annual Sale
For its annual storewide sale, Perani’s is selling everything in the store at 10 to 50 per cent off, she says. This includes top-selling brands such as Bauer, Warrior and CCM.
The Windsor Location
Since the opening of its Windsor location in 1997, Perani’s has been the city’s premier specialty store for hockey equipment, including a large assortment of skates, sticks, helmets, gloves, jerseys and goalie gear. In its 18-year history Perani’s Hockey World has served a lot of enthusiastic hockey players of a very wide age range. “We get all ages, from young kids to older adults,” says Lauwereys.
Store manager Robin Lauwereys, who’s managed the Windsor store since day one, was hired by Perani. “I was a customer service rep for Louisville Hockey and Bob Perani was my client at the time,” she says. “My job was being eliminated with Louisville cutbacks, and Bob asked if I would like to help manage his new store he was opening in Windsor. That’s how I came here.”
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Brendan Coughlin, another employee who’s also played hockey at different levels, has met players of all ages, some of them famous names like Steve Ott. The former Windsor Spitfire, now playing with the National Hockey League’s St. Louis Blues, stopped into Perani’s a couple of summers ago.
"The Toy Store for the Hockey Player"
With its wide selection of hockey equipment, on-site skate sharpening and skate repairing services, and enthusiastic customer service, there’s good reason that Perani’s Hockey World is known as “the toy store for the hockey player!”
Visit Perani’s Hockey World at 7540 Tecumseh Rd.
Perani's Hockey World ("The Toystore For The Hockey Player") was formed in Flint back in 1976 by Bob Perani, a local Pro hockey player and fan favorite who played for a number of years as a goalie with the Flint Generals.
Perks like the LOWEST PRICES and BIGGEST SELECTION of all the new products, the LOWEST PRICES and BIGGEST SELECTION of closeout and prior year products .
You are our #1 priority. We will continue to provide the best customer service, lowest price and largest product selection. Something that customers who have purchased with Perani's Hockey World have come to expect and enjoy with all of their previous purchases.