“The essence of America — that which really unites us — is not ethnicity, or nationality, or religion. It is an idea — and what an idea it is: that you can come from humble circumstances and do great things. That it doesn’t matter where you came from, but where you are going.”
—Condoleezza Rice, former United States Secretary of State, current director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University
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From the SGB Family to yours,
we wish you a very Happy and Safe July 4, 2021.
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July 1, 2021
»Clarus Completes Rhino-Rack Acquisition
Clarus Corp. completed the acquisition of Australia-based Rhino-Rack Pty Ltd. The company also amended and upsized its existing senior credit line. Read more
»Escalade Sports’ Onix Signs Extension With Pro Pickleball Association
Onix Pickleball announced that it had extended its partnership with the Pro Pickleball Association through 2023. The Dura Fast 40 Pickleball will continue to be the Official Ball of PPA Tour events through 2023. Read more
»Beyond Pulse Forms Strategic Advisory Board
Beyond Pulse announced forming an Advisory Board of sports industry professionals who will provide strategic direction for its business, including growth in the sports wearable technology industry and refining its digital and content executions. Read more
»Velofix Announces Direct Program Partnership With QuietKat Bikes
Velofix announced a new partnership in their Direct program with QuietKat, the e-bike manufacturer based in Eagle, CO. Read more
»Workwear Outfitters Begins New Era As Stand-Alone Company
Workwear Outfitters, formerly VF Workwear, completed its sale to Redwood Capital Investments. Read more
»Adidas Sues Thom Browne For Copyright Infringement
Adidas filed a lawsuit against fashion designer Thom Browne for copyright infringement over its use of stripes, according to The Fashion Law. Read more
»ASA Elects Board Of Directors For 2022
Four American Sportfishing Association (ASA) members were elected, or re-elected, to fill two at-large seats and two regional seats on its Board of Directors for three-year terms begin October 1, 2021. Read more
»Patagonia Recalls Capilene Cool Daily And Tropic Comfort
Patagonia issued a voluntary recall of products in two of its sun protection lines—Capilene Cool Daily and Tropic Comfort. The products do not meet the 50+ UPF (ultraviolet protection factor) rating. Read more
»NICS Firearms Background Checks Tumble In June
NICS background checks adjusted by the NSSF were down 41.3 percent in June to 1.28 million from 2.18 million a year ago. Read more
»Under Armour Partners With Southeastern Athletics
Southeastern Louisiana University has entered into a five-year partnership with Under Armour through BSN Sports to be the official apparel provider of SLU Athletics. Read more
»Report: Final Bidders Arrive For Reebok
Wolverine Worldwide Inc., Advent International, CVC Capital Partners, Sycamore Partners and Cerberus Capital Management are on the list of companies that have been asked to submit final bids in August to acquire Reebok, according to a report from Reuters. Read more
»Gap To Close All Stores In UK And Ireland
Gap Inc. said it plans to close all 81 of its Gap Specialty and Gap Outlet stores in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland as part of a strategic review of the company-operated business in Europe. Read more
»Neiman Marcus To Go Fur-Free By 2023
Neiman Marcus Group has committed to the elimination of products containing animal fur from its assortment by early 2023. Read more
»NCAA Allows Athletes To Profit From Name, Image And Likeness
Breaking with a long-held stance on athlete compensation, the NCAA Division I schools top rules-making group Wednesday approved policy changes that would enhance athletes’ ability to make money from their name, image and likeness (NIL), beginning July 1, 2021. Read more
»Gymshark Founder Reclaims CEO Role To Oversee U.S. Expansion
Ben Francis, founder, Gymshark, is reclaiming his role as the chief executive in August as the company expands into the U.S. and Asia. The move comes four years after he stepped back from leading the brand. Read more
»JD Sports To Split Chairman And CEO Roles
JD Sports Fashion said it will split Peter Cowgill’s role as executive chairman and recruit a chief executive over the next year. Read more
June 30, 2021
»Hybrid Apparel Acquires Air Waves
Hybrid Apparel completed its acquisition of Air Waves, a print-on-demand (POD) provider serving e-commerce and wholesale customers. Read more
»Ridepanda Nets $3.75 Million In Funding
Online seller Ridepanda announced it received a combined $3.75 million in financing to support growth in e-bikes Read more
»Formulife Secures Investment
Formulife has secured an investment from Texas-based investment firm Satori Capital. Read more
»Caleres’ Debt Outlook Raised To Positive
Moody’s Investors Service changed Caleres Inc.’s (Caleres) outlook from negative to positive. Read more
»Wolverine World Wide’s Debt Ratings Outlook Upgraded
Moody’s Investors Service upgraded Wolverine World Wide Inc.’s debt ratings outlook from negative to stable due to expectations of improved performance and credit metrics in coming quarters. Read more
»Adidas Launches Share Buyback Program
Adidas said its Executive Board has decided to launch a share buyback program in the second half of 2021 amid confidence the company’s latest strategy, ‘Own the Game,’ would generate “substantial” cumulative free cash flow over the next five years. Read more
»Timberland Partners With ReCircled
Timberland has partnered with ReCircled to support the upcoming launch of its global product take-back program. Read more
»Canadian Apparel Brand Duer Opens Store In Los Angeles
Canadian performance denim company Duer announced plans to open a second U.S. retail location, located in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles. Read more
»Hoka Strengthens Product Team With Senior Director Hires
Hoka One One hired industry veteran Evie Moe as its first senior director of apparel, where she will oversee product and design. Matt Rask has been hired as the senior director of footwear design. Read more
June 29, 2021
»Nike Marketing Veterans Join Jaanuu
Direct-to-consumer medical apparel brand Jaanuu announced it has hired two former top-level executives from Nike, Inc. as it charts its next stage of growth. Dan Alder, former global head of marketing at Nike since 2002, has been appointed chief marketing officer a, and Scott Shepley, an 18-year veteran in global brand marketing at Nike, has joined Jaanuu as VP of brand marketing. Read more
»Under Armour Extends Partnership With Central College
Under Armour reached an agreement to continue to be the official outfitter of Central College in Pella, IA for the next five years. Read more
»Life Fitness Relocates Corporate Headquarters To Franklin Park
Life Fitness announced the relocation of its global headquarters to Franklin Park, IL, to consolidate its corporate operations, effective July 1, 2021. The consolidation will support growth and innovation across the organization and space to collaborate with customers. Read more
»Black Diamond Equipment To Open Store In Boulder
Black Diamond Equipment opens its doors to a new retail store on Pearl Street in Boulder, CO. Read more
»Brooks Sets Goal For Zero Carbon Emissions By 2040
Brooks Running outlined its 2030 planet strategy that includes a commitment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. Read more
»Echelon Fitness Partners With Pitbull
Grammy-winning artist Pitbull (aka Armando Christian Perez) has become an investor in Echelon Fitness and reached an agreement to provide a dedicated content channel and exclusive products. Read more
»Gympass Doubles Valuation In New Funding Round
Gympass announced that Softbank, General Atlantic, Moore Strategic Ventures, Kaszek, and Valor Capital Group, are supporting the company with a new investment round of $220 million. Read more
»COVID-19 Lockdowns Impact Australian Trade
Kathmandu Holdings Ltd. (NZX/ASX: KMD) (Group) provided the following trading update today following the recent announcement of additional COVID-19 restrictions in New South Wales, Australia. Read more
»Bill Hicks & Co. Appoints Sales/Customer Service Manager
Bill Hicks & Co., Ltd. announced the addition of Chris Jordan to its management team as sales/customer service manager. Read more
»Skechers Named Official Team Footwear Supplier Of 2021 Solheim Cup
For the first time, Skechers has been named the official footwear supplier of both the European and United States Solheim Cup Teams for the 2021 tournament. Read more
»VF Corp Completes Sale Of Occupational Portion Of Work Segment
VF Corporation announced that it has completed the sale of the occupational portion of its Work segment to a subsidiary of Redwood Capital Investments, LLC, a diversified holding company. Read more
»Phunkshun Wear Hires Sales Manager
Phunkshun Wear, a Denver, CO-based company, has also hired Patrick Meehan as its new sales manager. Read more
June 28, 2021
»Logo Brands Partners With University Of North Carolina
Logo Brands Inc. has entered into a multi-year exclusive licensing agreement with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, effective January 1, 2022. Read more
»EventHub Continues As Expo Management Partner For Running USA Industry Conference
Running USA announced that EventHub would continue as the Expo Management Partner for its Industry Conference to be held at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, FL from February 20-22, 2022. Read more
»Truewerk Raises Another $2 Million
Denver, CO-based TrueWerk raised $2.03 million in an equity funding round, according to a Form D filing. This comes after the company reported raising $2.5 million in August. Read more
»Fleet Feet Promotes Jason Jabaut To COO
Fleet Feet announced the promotion of Jason Jabaut to COO, effective immediately. The move comes as it realigns the organization and formalizes its growth plan centered on business development, brand awareness and customer retention. Read more
»Xponential Fitness Files For Initial Public Offering
Xponential Fitness Inc. announced that it has filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the proposed initial public offering of its Class A common stock. Read more
»Bass Pro And Cabela’s Continue SCI Sponsorship
Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s recently renewed their corporate sponsorship of Safari Club International. Read more
»Beachbody And Myx Fitness Complete Merger With Forest Road Acquisition Corp.
The Beachbody Company Group, LLC announced its completion of a three-way business combination with Myx Fitness Holdings, LLC and Forest Road Acquisition Corp. effective June 25, 2021. Read more
»Burberry’s CEO To Join Ferragamo
Salvatore Ferragamo SpA said it reached an agreement for Burberry Group Plc CEO Marco Gobbetti to become its general manager and chief executive officer at the end of the year. Read more
»Arc’teryx Opens Store In Santana Row
Arc’teryx opened a brand store in the Santana Row community of San Jose, CA, offering a full selection of its outerwear, packs, climbing gear, hiking and trail running apparel. Read more
Photo courtesy Chamber of Commerce, Blowing Rock, NC
