December 2023 featured many of the annual recaps and look aheads inherent in end-of-year business reporting; however, traffic and readership also rewarded a piece on Macy’s $5.8 billion buyout offer with the Most Read Article nod for the month, followed closely by an article reviewing somewhat surprising results from an ICSC study that revealed how closing stores could hurt a retail brand’s online business in the market around the store closure.
A report on selling an iconic Italian shotgun maker to CSG Group came in at #3 after garnering a significant international response.
Nike’s fiscal Q2 report came in at #4 on the Most Read for December, a storyline that generated the most overall read across two articles delving into the impact of the company’s results, reduced outlook, and planned cuts across its organization on the overall market and several competitor brands.
An SGB Executive interview with Eddie Bauer CEO Tim Bantle on the 103-year-old company’s comprehensive rebranding efforts and his vision for the trail ahead rounded out the Top 5.
SGB Media continued to be the top resource for delivering business news for the active lifestyle market in December 2023, with over 450,000 SGB Update newsletters emailed throughout the month to a subscriber base of over 60,000 industry professionals. SGB Updates again scored an Open Rate of nearly 50 percent, a 10 percent Click-to-Open rate, and a Click Rate of almost 5 percent, with all metrics far above industry standards.
SGB Media wishes to thank long-time advertisers, including Body Glide, Teflon, Thermore, Aetrex, Skechers, and Ortholite, and new partners Lycra and Powerstep, for ensuring SGB brings the daily news to you on a complimentary basis. They are critical to getting this service to your mailbox each day.
The Top 5 Most-Read Articles from SGB Media from November 2023
Study: Retailers See Big Online Sales Declines After Closing Brick & Mortar
EXEC: Nike’s Reduced Outlook, Planned Cuts and Market View Takes Broader Market Down
Rounding out the SGB Top 15 Most-Read Articles for December
EXEC: McKinsey Identifies Tech Outerwear Among Hot Fashion Trends For 2024
In its The State of Fashion 2024 study, McKinsey & Co. provided a bullish outlook for technical outerwear, stating the category “has been propelled by consumers post-pandemic embrace of healthier lifestyles as well as ‘gorpcore,’ and is likely to accelerate even further in 2024.”
Report: Nike and Lululemon Post Epic Retail Traffic Surges on Black Friday
The Placer.ai data revealed that Nike drew 324.9 percent more retail store visits on Black Friday 2023, Lululemon, for its part, saw a visit bump of 467.7 percent on November 24, bringing the brand closer to its pre-pandemic Black Friday frenzy levels.
EXEC: Stifel Survey Finds Consumers Prioritize Price/Value Over Sustainability
The survey, which was conducted in partnership with Morning Consult, surveyed active/causal lifestyle brand consumers ages 18 to 55 based in the U.S., UK, Germany, France, and Italy. It found that only one-third of respondents “Highly Prioritize” sustainability when making purchasing decisions, compared to other factors like “Good Value” (68 percent) and “Low Price” (57 percent).
Report: Large Deals Driving Recent Outdoor Recreation M&A Activity
Consumer behavior has continued to perplex market participants as each pullback in spending has seemingly been followed by a resurgence of demand in the Outdoor Recreation market. That observation is one of the key points from the most recent Outdoor Recreation Market Update from Capstone Partners.
VF Corp. Data Breach Impacting Ability to Ship Orders
The company detected a cybersecurity breach in its systems on December 13 that is “reasonably likely to continue to have a material impact on the company’s business operations,” including its ability to fulfill online orders.
Johnson Outdoors Sees Q4 Revenues Halved as Fishing Sinks
Consolidated net sales in fiscal Q4 were $96.3 million, a $100.1 million decrease from the prior-year Q4 sales of $196.4 million. The net loss for the quarter was $16.0 million, or a loss of $1.56 a share, compared to net income of $9.7 million, or EPS of 95 cents a share in the fiscal 2022 fourth quarter.
In Memorium: Remembering the Active Lifestyle Leaders Lost In 2023
As the year closes, SGB Media remembers the active lifestyle industry business leaders who passed in 2023 and once again acknowledges their contributions to the market.
SGB 2023 Year In Review: Executive Shuffle
New CEOs at Academy Sports, Adidas, Asics, Gap, Kohl’s, Levi’s, Sportsman’s Warehouse, VF Corp., Vista Outdoor, and Wolverine Worldwide headlined the C-suite moves that transformed leadership across the active lifestyle space in 2023.
EXEC: Dick’s SG Sees Differentiation Reaping Dividends
Speaking Tuesday at the 2023 Morgan Stanley Global Consumer & Retail Conference, Navdeep Gupta, EVP and CFO at Dick’s Sporting Goods, elaborated on how the retailer’s efforts to further differentiate itself both within product and the store experience is driving market share gains.
Gildan Investor Wildfire Spreads as More Firms Join the Call to Reinstate CEO
Anson Funds and Anson Advisors is the latest to express disappointment with the Gildan Board and voiced concerns over the Board striking a backroom deal with an Individual shareholder in exchange for support rather than engaging with investors troubled by poor succession planning.
