NHL standoff hurting retailers

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TORONTO, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- The National Hockey League's union/owners' standoff is taking a major revenue toll on Canadian sports retailers, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

With all games through November already canceled, sports-reliant stores in Ontario and Quebec are reporting sales declines as high as 30 percent, the broadcaster said.

The frustration is shown in a YouTube video posted by Alan Pearson, who owns Raxan Collectibles in Kirkland, Quebec.

It's entitled "The NHL Destroyed My Business."

"I've run my business for more than 20 years," he posted. "I've been paying royalties. And what do you guys do for the second time in eight years?"

The 2004 season was canceled entirely over league and union disputes.

Bob Reaume, who runs a self-named sports shop in Windsor, Ontario, said his sales were down by at least 30 percent.

In big business, a major sponsor of hockey in Canada, brewer Molson Coors, said beer sales are down as a result of the standoff and will look for lost compensation from the NHL, the report said.