SGB Executive Outdoor

EXEC: Portland’s Next Adventure Set to Shutter After Epic Summer Retirement Sale
Deek Heykamp and Bryan Knudsen, the owners of Next Adventure, announced this week that their stores would be closing this year and the two friends since childhood would be retiring.

EXEC: Canadian Tire to Keep Hudson Bay Company Brand Alive; Acquires Assets
CTC quietly announced Thursday, May 15 that it had entered into a definitive agreement to become the home of iconic Canadian brands and other intellectual property of the Hudson’s Bay Company

EXEC: Lowa’s Peter Sachs Talks Retirement, Outdoor Industry Changes
Peter Sachs, the longtime U.S. general manager at Lowa, sat down with SGB Executive to talk about his 29-year career building the German boot maker’s U.S. business, the current state of the outdoor industry, and semi-retirement plans.

EXEC: Boot Barn CEO Expects Little China Tariff Impact on Exclusive Goods
The company will only have 5 percent on order from China in the second half of the year, with China exclusive brand product ~$2.3 million of “tariffable product” for the remainder of fiscal 2026.

EXEC: Dick’s SG and Foot Locker Confirm $2.4 Billion Merger Deal
After seeing the global ambitions grow for JD Sports and Sports Direct, now comes the colonists, with Dick’s Sporting Goods fighting the good fight to protect the motherland from the ambitions of the crown while offering a new global vision for the Dick’s Sporting Goods and Foot Locker brands.

EXEC: Rocky Mountain Transitions into Chaos After Court-Directed Sale of Assets
Three new owners are involved with e-bike maker Maui Bikes, headquartered in Québec. The new ownership team is said to bring diverse expertise, a shared love for cycling and the outdoors and a clear commitment to growing Rocky Mountain while staying true to its DNA.

EXEC: U.S. and China Agree to 90-Day Tariff Pause
In announcing a pause on the tariff war, the U.S. tariffs were cut to 30 percent from 145 percent, and the China tariffs on U.S. goods were cut to 10 percent from 125 percent as the two countries work to develop a long-term deal.

EXEC: Merrell Parent’s CEO Lays Out Q1 Results, Tariff Plans and Q2 Growth Estimates
Wolverine Worldwide first quarter revenue grew by over 5 percent on an ongoing basis and nearly 7 percent on a constant-currency basis, with the results driven by the company’s two biggest brands: Saucony and Merrell.

EXEC: Clarus Promotes Tripp Wyckoff to Managing Director of Rack Segment
Wyckoff previous served eight years as VP of sales, marketing and service at Thule, where he reportedly grew the brand significantly in the U.S. and was primarily responsible for bringing to market global initiatives, building one-on-one customer relationships and integrating key acquisitions.

EXEC: Black Diamond Parent Finds Private Investment Buyer for Pieps Business
Clarus Corporation, owner of the Black Diamond, RockyMounts, MaxTrax, and Rhino-Rack brands, has secured a buyer for the Pieps GmbH avalanche beacon brand and assets of the JetForce avalanche pack intellectual property.

EXEC: Yeti Slashes Guidance on Product Delays, Tariffs Fallout
Yeti’s moves to shift production out of China are ahead of plan with 90 percent of its U.S. drinkware capacity expected to be ex-China by the end of the year. However, delays caused by the sourcing shifts as well as the tariffs themselves caused the Yeti to ax its guidance for the year.

EXEC: REI Members Reject Three Co-op Backed Board of Director Candidates
Employees and organizers of the REI Union effort have taken credit for running a successful and disruptive attempt to reject the candidates put forward by the co-op’s current Board of Directors and offered up their candidates

EXEC: REI Co-op Halves 2024 Net Loss, Improves Margins, Reduces Inventories
The co-op reported that 2024 net sales declined ~6.2 percent to $3.53 billion, compared to $3.76 billion in 2023, while investing over $282 million back into the co-op community and ending the year in a cash flow neutral position.

EXEC: SportChek’s Q1 Same-Store Sales Expand 6.3 Percent at CTC
Canadian Tire Corp. reported SportChek delivered a third consecutive quarter of comparable sales growth, up 6.3 percent, driven by strong sales across corporate and franchise stores. Skiing, snowboards, hockey, and outerwear were the top-performing categories in the quarter.

Lowa Revenues Inched Up in 2024 Led by Kids, Winter Shoes and Trail Running
Lowa Sportschuhe GmbH reported sales grew 1.9 percent in 2024 to €233.9 million ($246 mm), marking the second-best result in the German company’s history. Kids, winter shoes and trail running segments led the gains.