The Top National stories and the Latest headlines across the Active Lifestyle Market for the week of June 21, 2021 covered in the SGB Updates and delivered to your inbox every business day.

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This week’s Athlete is Oregon native Ryan Crouser who “obliterated” the shot put World Record at last week’s Olympic Trials. The 30-year old shot put record was made back in 1990 by Randy Barns with a throw of  75 feet, 10 1/4 inches. Few ever thought it would be surpassed, but Ryan crushed it on June 18 with a toss of 76 feet, 8 1/4 inches. Watch his throw here or click on the still shot below.

June 24, 2021

»Jones Snowboards Appoints VP Of Soft Goods
Jones Snowboards welcomed Martijn Linden as vice president of soft goods. He has 20 years of experience designing and developing winter sports apparel for Burton, Armada, Black Diamond, Quiksilver, Rip Curl, Patagonia, and O’Neill. Read more

»Beachbody SPAC Deal Wins Shareholder Approval
Forest Road Acquisition Corp. announced that its stockholders have voted to approve the proposed three-way business combination with The Beachbody Company Group, LLC and Myx Fitness Holdings, LLC at a special meeting of stockholders. Read more

»Bangers LP Appoints VP Of Marketing
Bangers LP appointed Shane Wheaton as vice president, marketing. Read more

»Nike Blasts Past Wall Street Targets In Q4
Nike Inc. reported earnings and sales came in well above Wall Street’s consensus estimates in the fourth quarter ended May 31. Revenues grew 96 percent year-over-year, supported by a 73 percent jump in Nike Direct sales. Sales in North American climbed 141 percent year-over-year and 29 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2019. Read more

»Golf Rounds Played Climb 18 Percent In May
Golf rounds played in the U.S. rose 18.1 percent for the month of May, according to Golf Datatech. For the year-to-date period, rounds are ahead 33.6 percent. Read more

»Appalachian Gear Company Expands Manufacturing Operations In North Carolina
Appalachian Gear Company announces its expansion into a new manufacturing facility in Kings Mountain, NC. The move will allow the brand to increase the production of its All-Paca products while creating jobs in the Charlotte metropolitan area. Read more

»RBFF Report: Fishing Participation Booming
According to a recent study conducted by the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation, recreational fishing continues to surge and attracting a new and diverse audience. Read more

»Hibbett Initiates Quarterly Cash Dividend
Hibbett Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has declared an initial quarterly dividend of 25 cents per share on the company’s common stock. The commencement of the company’s first ongoing dividend program is reflective of the company’s growth and commitment to delivering long-term shareholder value. Read more

»Blain’s Farm & Fleet To Open Two New Wisconsin Locations
Blain’s Farm & Fleet announced its plans for an expanded presence in Wisconsin with new stores in Grafton and Rhinelander. Read more

»EY Future Consumer Index Finds Consumers Prioritizing Sustainability
Globally, levels of concern among consumers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic are moderating slightly, according to the seventh edition of the EY Future Consumer Index. A key emerging trend is the prioritization of sustainability, although the majority of consumers are relying on companies to act as leaders in driving positive social and environmental outcomes. Read more

»NRF Welcomes Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework
The National Retail Federation said it is encouraged by a bipartisan group of Senators and the Biden Administration finding agreement on a framework for an infrastructure package. Read more

»Goat Group Valuation More Than Doubles To $3.7 Billion In Latest Funding Round
Goat Group has closed a Series F funding round of $195 million, reaching a valuation of $3.7 billion, more than double its prior valuation of $1.8 billion following its Series E round announced in September 2020. Read more

»Canada Goose To Go Fur-Free By End Of Next Year
Canada Goose announced that it would end the use of fur in all its products. Through a phased approach, Canada Goose will end the purchase of fur by the end of 2021 and cease manufacturing with fur no later than the end of 2022. Read more

»Slinger Bag Acquires Foundation Tennis
Slinger Bag announced its acquisition of Foundation Tennis, a developer of tennis software applications covering tennis club and facility administration and encompassing functional user and CRM experiences. Read more

»Hibbett Changes Corporate Name
Hibbett Inc. announced that it changed its corporate name from “Hibbett Sports, Inc.” to “Hibbett, Inc.” Mike Longo, president and CEO, said the new corporate name better reflects its increased emphasis on athletic-inspired fashion merchandise. Read more

»Mizuno Establishes Partnership With LPGAMizuno announced a new partnership with the LPGA. The Japanese manufacturer will have a presence at various professional and amateur women’s events in 2021 and produce content for the LPGA’s Women’s Network. Read more

June 23, 2021

»American Express Commits More Than $100 Million To Small Business Campaign
American Express announced that it has launched its new “Let’s Go Shop Small” campaign with more than a $100 million commitment to inspire consumers to support small businesses worldwide through its year-round Shop Small campaign. Read more

»Gildan Joins U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol
The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol welcomed Gildan Activewear and their portfolio of company-owned brands, including Gildan, Alstyle, American Apparel and Comfort Colors as members. Read more

»Parley For The Oceans Joins Forces With Brita
Parley for Oceans has formed a long-term partnership with Brita to end the use of single-use plastic water bottles. Read more

»Under Armour Veteran Joins CEO Coaching International
CEO Coaching International named Matt Shearer, a former executive at Under Armour, as its newest partner and coach. Read more

»Streamlight Names Sales Rep of the Year, Sporting Goods
Streamlight Inc. announced that Core Line Marketing received the company’s 2020 Sales Rep Agency of The Year Award for the Sporting Goods market. Read more

»Connected Coaching Start-Up Raises $2.2 Million
Asensei, a connected coaching start-up based in San Francisco, has closed a $2.2 million Series Seed funding round. Read more

»KOA Report: 53 Million Households Expected To Go Camping in 2021
The KOA Monthly Research Report, June Edition, indicates that 48 percent of campers plan to camp this summer, including 19.8 million that intend to camp over the Fourth of July holiday. Read more

»Izod Sold To Authentic Brands Group
Authentic Brands Group (ABG) has reached an agreement to acquire PVH Corp.’s Heritage Brands business, which includes the Izod, Van Heusen, Arrow, and Geoffrey Beene brand trademarks. The cash purchase price for the transaction is approximately $220 million. Read more

»Topps Reports 55 Percent Hike In Q1 Revenues
The Topps Company reported significant earnings gains in the first quarter ended April 3 as sales climbed 55.3 percent. Read more

»Winnebago Sees Q3 Revenues More Than Double
Winnebago Industries reported record quarterly earnings in the third quarter ended May 29 as sales catapulted 138.7 percent. The company also said record backlogs reflect sustained levels of strong end consumer demand. Read more

»Wolverine Worldwide Names Blake Krueger’s Year-End Successor As CEO
Wolverine World Wide Inc. announced that Brendan Hoffman, president and a member of the company’s Board of Directors, will also become chief executive officer at the end of the year. Hoffman will succeed Blake Krueger, who will assume the newly created role of executive chairman. Read more

June 22, 2021

»Camping World Continues Expansion Of RV Dealer Network In Ohio
Camping World Holdings Inc. executed purchase agreements for the planned development of two new RV SuperCenters on approximately 15 acres in Sunbury, OH. Camping World currently has four locations in the state and plans to open new locations for business in the fall of 2022. Read more

»OBIT: Jimmy Jazz Founder Joseph Khezrie
Jimmy Jazz said its founder Joseph Khezrie has passed away at the age of 90. Read more

»Adidas Extends Partnership With Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University Director of Athletics, Kathy Beauregard, announced an extension of the department’s partnership with Adidas, keeping Bronco Athletics in the brand through 2027/28. Read more

»Gymshark To Expand North American Fulfillment Footprint
Gymshark, the U.K.-based fitness apparel brand, plans to open its first U.S. distribution center in July 2021 in Rialto, CA, with East Coast centers following later in the year. Read more

»Fanatics Extends Partnership With Formula 1
Fanatics reached a multi-year extension to its e-commerce and manufacturing deal with Formula 1. Read more

»NTWRK Appoints First CMO
NTWRK, the live stream shopping platform, announced the appointment of Jason Brown as its first chief marketing officer. Brown joins NTWRK from Foot Locker, where he was VP marketing, North America. Read more

»Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever Appoint Ohio And West Virginia Representation
Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever have selected James Harris to serve as a regional representative in Ohio and West Virginia. Read more

»Wiley X Breaks Ground At New Headquarters In Frisco
Wiley X broke ground in Frisco, TX, where the protective eyewear brand’s global headquarters, manufacturing and distribution site is set to be located in the Star Business Park by 2022. Read more

»Green Theme Technologies Raises $3.5 Million In Funding
Green Theme Technologies announced the first close of its Series B funding. The funds will be used to support the growth of its water-free Empel textile finishing process. Read more

»CycleBar To Debut In New York City With Multiple Former Flywheel Locations
Xponential Fitness brand CycleBar will enter the New York City market for the first time with six studios expected to open over the summer, beginning with a studio in Noho in late June. Read more

»Target Announces New Sustainability Strategy
Target Corp. released its Target Forward, the company’s sustainability strategy—to design and elevate sustainable brands, innovate to eliminate waste and accelerate opportunity and equity. Read more

»Report: Outdoor Participation Sees Record Growth And Long-Term Challenges
COVID-19 inspired participation growth as the outdoors became a place to recreate, safely socialize, improve physical and mental health, connect with family, and recover from screen fatigue. Read more

»Peloton Rolls Out Corporate Wellness Offering
Peloton announced the launch of Peloton Corporate Wellness, extending its content or connected fitness products to businesses and organizations. Read more

»Designer Brands Makes Exec Changes To Further Support Camuto Group’s Integration
Designer Brands Inc. said that in addition to her ongoing role as vice chairman, Debbie Ferrée has been named president of Camuto Group, a role she has held on an interim basis since August 2020. In addition, William Jordan has been named president of Designer Brands. Read more

»Supreme Court Rules NCAA Can’t Limit Benefits To Student Athletes
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Monday that the NCAA cannot limit education-related benefits, like computers, musical instruments and paid internships, that colleges could offer their star student-athletes. The ruling opens the door for future legal challenges in the NCAA’s decades-old fight over paying student-athletes. Read more

»360 Collective To Host Southeast Paddlesports Experience In August
360 Adventure Collective will host its first Southeast Paddlesports Experience August 24-25 at the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, NC. Read more

June 21, 2021

»PXG Opens Eighth Store
PXG, the golf club maker, announced the opening its eighth U.S. location. The latest, a more than 4,000-square-foot facility in The Shops at Norterra in the company’s home state of Arizona, marks the third PXG store to open in the past 12 months. Read more

»U.S. Trail Running Conference Webinar Shines A Spotlight On Safety
The sixth webinar in a nine-webinar series produced by the U.S. Trail Running Conference and presented by the trail registration platform UltraSignup was hosted on June 17. Read more

»Eagle Creek To End Operations By Late 2021
VF Corp has confirmed plans to cease operations of the Eagle Creek, the travel accessories, luggage and daypack brand, this fall. Read more

»Rally House Opens First Akron Store
Rally House opened its first Akron location at Summit Mall.  Read more

»Shoe Carnival Issues Robust Annual Guidance
Shoe Carnival Inc. issued its full-year guidance that calls for earnings to double year-ago levels and come in ahead of current Wall Street targets. The off-pricer’s Board of Directors also authorized a two-for-one stock split. Read more

»Vega Sold To Florida-Based PE-Firm
WM Partners, a private equity firm based in Aventura, FL, has agreed to acquire Vega, a Canadian provider of plant-based protein powder products, from food and beverage conglomerate Danone. Read more

»Ralph Lauren Gets Into Gaming With G2 Esports Partnership
Ralph Lauren Corp. entered the esports industry through a partnership with the European organization G2 Esports. Read more

»Golftec Opens Custom Fitting Location Near Seattle
Golftec announced the opening of an instruction and club fitting center in Redmond, WA. Read more

»DIVERTsessions To Open In Santa Ana
DIVERTsessions, an outdoor 45,000-square-foot action sports venue, will launch at MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana, CA for an initial three-month run this summer. Read more

»FTI Consulting Projects U.S. Online Retail Sales To Reach $865 Billion in 2021
With an improving economic outlook and accelerating growth of online shopping since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Retail & Consumer Products practice at FTI Consulting, Inc. projects U.S. online retail sales will reach $865 billion in 2021, with nearly two-thirds of Amazon Prime Day shoppers surveyed saying they intend to spend more during this year’s event than they did in 2020. Read more

»Adidas Partners With Delta Galil
Adidas announced a global licensing agreement that will see Delta Galil design, manufacture and distribute men’s and women’s underwear collections under Adidas’ Badge of Sport and Originals labels. Launching for Spring 2022, the collections will be available in the APAC, EMEA, Europe and Latin America regions, with the women’s collections also launching in North America. Read more

»WIT Fitness Announces Global Partnership With CrossFit
London-based sportswear retailer WIT Fitness and CrossFit, LLC have signed a multi-year global e-commerce and retail partnership in which WIT will operate an official online CrossFit store, sell CrossFit-branded gear at its flagship London store and future physical locations globally, and have a retail presence at the CrossFit Games and other CrossFit events. Read more

Photos/Video courtesy Ryan Crouser, NBC