SGB Update

Otto Sport AI Raises $16.5 Million in Seed Funding

Otto Sport AI, a youth sports management platform, secured $16.5 million seed investment co-led by Mamba Growth Equity and Rally Ventures. The new funding will accelerate development across the Otto Sport AI product suite with additional AI-driven tools, integrations and features rolling out throughout 2026.

SGB Executive

EXEC: VF Brand Presidents for “Big 3” Brands Talk Transformation

At a keynote session at the NRF Big Show, the global brand presidents of VF Corp’s top brands — Sun Choe, Vans; Nina Flood, Timberland; and Caroline Brown, The North Face — discussed the playbooks they are using to transform their brands to revive or accelerate growth.

EXEC: Fanatics Still Finding Sizable Growth Opportunities in Fan Gear  

During a keynote session at the National Retail Federation: Retail’s Big Show, Fanatics’ founder and CEO, Michael Rubin, said the company now controls about one-third of the global market for sports fan merchandise, with significant opportunities to gain a greater share, particularly internationally.

EXEC: Is Varsity Brands Setting Up for a Big Deal?

Varsity Brands, Inc., the parent of BSN Sports and Varsity Spirit, announced a proposed $400 million fungible add-on to its first-lien term loan facility to partly finance a potential undisclosed acquisition of a complementary business to BSN Sports with a heavy presence in soccer. The potential deal was noted in Moody’s and S&P’s debt issuance reports.

EXEC: Adidas and Nike Fight for Top Spot in UBS Global Survey

In the athletic footwear category, Nike was the top brand global consumers planned to purchase within the next 12 months, at 49 percent; followed by Adidas, 41 percent; New Balance, 17 percent; Puma, 14 percent; Air Jordan, 13 percent; Asics, 12 percent; Anta and Skechers, both 10 percent; Li-Ning, 9 percent, and Converse, 8 percent.