Hestra, the 83-year-old Swedish glove maker, relocated the company’s USA headquarters to a newly constructed 32,000-square-foot space in Arvada, CO, and added three key hires as it continues to scale its U.S. business.
Ross Stores Inc. reported earnings per share for the second quarter ended August 3, 2019, of $1.14, up from $1.04 last year. Net earnings grew to $413 million, compared to $389 million in the prior year. Sales rose 6 percent to $4 billion, with comparable-store sales up 3 percent on top of last year’s strongest quarterly comparison of 5 percent.
Champion has become the premium brand partner for PepWear.
The Buckle Inc. on Friday announced net income for the fiscal second quarter ended August 3 of $16.4 million, or 34 cents per share, up from $15.7 million, or 32 cents per share a year ago, and ahead of Wall Street’s estimates by 4 cents.
Zwift, the global online training and racing platform for athletes, announced the appointment of Mike McCarthy as VP of Running.
Nordstrom Inc. announced Thursday that Teri Bariquit was appointed the retailer’s chief merchandising officer.
REI Co-op appointed Vivienne Long as vice president of marketing and Pardis Ghorbani as vice president of customer and brand shared services.
Apex Global Brands (formerly Cherokee Global Brands) announced the expansion of the Tony Hawk brand through the addition of several new licensing agreements.
REI Co-op will open a retail store in Tampa, FL, in spring 2021.
Champion Athleticwear is further expanding the brand’s retail presence with its first store in Las Vegas and its sixth U.S. retail specialty store overall, complementing other locations in New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston, and Chicago.
Stage Stores Inc. reported that for the second quarter comparable sales increased 1.8 percent. Net loss was $23.9 million, and adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $0.1 million.
Fanatics Inc. and the University of Miami announced a 10-year, exclusive licensing partnership which, beginning in January 2020, will see Fanatics become the University’s primary apparel, headwear and hard goods partner.
A new climbing study, conducted by Marketing & Research Resources on behalf of The North Face, reveals that 30 percent of people are interested in learning to rock climb and 40 percent plan to watch the sport in the 2020 summer Olympics.
Stack Sports, the specialist in sports technology, announced the acquisition of Affinity Sports and Blue Sombrero from Dick’s Sporting Goods.
Century Arms recently acquired the surplus company Springfield Sporters and all of its assets.
Columbia Sportswear Co. announced a $33 million expansion of its campus in Washington County, Oregon.
Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp. appointed Colleen Birdnow Brown to its board of directors effective August 21, 2019.
Lowe’s Companies Inc. announced that it will carry more than 10,000 licensed NFL-branded merchandise items on Lowes.com/NFL.
L.L.Bean and Husson University announced that a group of 22 L.L.Bean employees has begun pursuing their Master of Business Administration (MBA) degrees from Husson University through a workforce development initiative.
Globe International Limited, based in Melbourne, Australia, reported continued growth in net sales for the year ended June 30 while profitability was just below the previous corresponding period mainly due to the impact on margins from the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against the AUD.
Samsonite International S.A. reported sales on a currency-neutral basis grew 22.1 percent for Gregory in the six months ended June 30 but fell 11.9 percent for High Sierra.
The total value of the U.S. tennis economy grew by 2.1 percent last year to a total of $6.19 billion, according to data from the Tennis Industry Association’s annual Economic Index, created to evaluate the total worth of the U.S. tennis industry to the overall economy.
Delta Galil Industries Ltd. named Steve Moore as president, Mass Division.
Sneakers4Funds, a leading athletic shoe drive fundraising company, announced the hiring of Brian Perez as vice president.
Franworth, the franchisee, said New Orleans Saints quarterback and multi-unit franchisee Drew Brees has joined the company as a partner and as a member of its executive board.
St. Cloud Capital announced an investment in Little Rock, AR-based AR HIIT LLC, an Orangetheory Fitness franchisee.
Fitbit announced that it will collaborate with Singapore’s Health Promotion Board (HPB) on a healthy population project in support of Singapore’s Smart Nation initiative.
Urban Outfitters Inc. reported total company net sales for the three months ended July 31, 2019, decreased 3.0 percent over the same period last year to $962 million.
Bass Pro Shops plans to open a new location at WestRidge Crossing, a new mixed-use development in Morgantown, WV.
NRI Distribution Inc., the third-party logistics provider, appointed Brian White to lead business development. Ryan Dale-Johnson was promoted to director of business services in the Los Angeles office.
Gymguyz LLC, the in-home mobile personal training and fitness franchise concept, hired business development veteran Ed Ruane as its new chief growth officer.
The National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA) hired Jennifer Shaffer as comptroller. CFO Dan Wiersman retired from NSGA on August 1.
The 619Futsal organization, including the 619Futsal Academy, announced that Soccerloco, a leading soccer retailer in the western region, will become the official apparel and equipment supplier to the club for the next three years.
STX announced its new roster of women’s lacrosse athletes—Dempsey Arsenault, Kenzie Kent and Lindsey Ronbeck.
Nike was granted a two-year licensing agreement allowing the company to use New York City‘s logos on branded merchandise.
Participating lodging properties across the Southeast region are now assured of a positive summer performance for both occupancy and revenues—with only one month remaining for the summer season, according to Inntopia. Bookings made in July for arrivals in the months of July through December, however, are down 11 percent.
New Wave Group AB, the Swedish-based owner of Ahead, Auclair, Craft and Cutter & Buck, reported sales rose 11 percent in the second quarter and gained 6 percent on a currency-neutral basis. New Wave’s sports & leisure segment sales in the quarter grew 17.5 percent.
Icryo Cryotherapy, a cryotherapy franchise in the U.S., announced that Joseph Pepe Sr. and Matthew Pepe will join the company as equity partners.
Running footwear brand Altra appointed Andrew Conley as its director of global product.
Gresvig AS, a leading sports retailer in Norway, will consolidate its stores under the Intersport brand and build a closer partnership with Intersport International, the world’s leading sporting goods retailer.
Elderid North America announced a new partnership with Sasso Vertical Sales.
Flywheel Sports, the spin chain, will close 11 of its 42 locations. The closings were reported in an e-mail to membership holders.
Stephen Curry announced his commitment to Howard University with a pledge to support the establishment of the university’s first NCAA Division 1 golf program for the next six years.
Brooks Running Co. and Locally announced their partnership to launch same-day delivery to runners in 10 markets across the U.S. beginning August 22.
Freemotion, the commercial division of Icon Health & Fitness, promoted former VP of Sales, Americas, Chris McGill, to vice president of global sales and previous National Account Manager, Marcy Spaulding, to director of sales, North America.
FanWide, a startup dedicated to building sports fan communities, added former Adidas VP and GM, Lawrence Norman, as an advisor to help with business development and team strategy.
PlayMakar Inc., the sports recovery and muscle stimulator products company, announced the addition of NFL free safety, Kavon Frazier, to their roster of sponsored athletes.
Thule Group AB announced that Lennart Mauritzson will leave his position as CFO of Thule Group.
Canada Goose Holdings Inc. held its annual meeting of shareholders on August 15, 2019. All the nominees for election as directors listed in the company’s management information circular dated July 2 were elected by a majority of the votes cast by shareholders virtually present or represented by proxy at the meeting.
Banana Republic announced the launch of Style Passport, an online subscription service that provides unlimited access to the brand’s women’s apparel collection.
On August 26, the tennis industry will honor the late Arthur Ashe—who helped shape the sport in the U.S. and around the world—by inducting him into the Tennis Industry Hall of Fame.
Lead photo courtesy Hestra short film titled “Hestra Gloves Since 1936”. Watch here.
