Aisle Talk Week Of March 15, 2021

The Top National stories and the Latest headlines across the Active Lifestyle Market for the week of March 15, 2021 covered in the SGB Updates and delivered to your inbox every business day.

March 19, 2021

•Report: Nike Undergoes Additional Layoffs
Nike instituted an “unspecified number of recent layoffs” in an effort to build a “flatter, nimbler company,” according to a report from The Oregonian. Read more

•New Balance Announces Long-Term Relationship With Stone Island
New Balance and Stone Island, the Italian sportswear brand recently acquired by Moncler, announced a long-term product collaboration. Read more

•Peloton Treadmill Accident Leads To Child’s Death
John Foley, Peloton Interactive Inc.’s chief executive officer, on Thursday asked owners of its Tread+ treadmills to check safety warnings after a child died in an accident involving the company’s exercise equipment. Read more

•Adidas Confirms Peloton Apparel Partnership
Adidas confirmed plans to launch an apparel collection in partnership with Peloton. The collection marks Peloton’s first-ever instructor-designed global-level collaboration. Read more

•JD Sports Completion Acquisition Of DTLR
JD Sports Fashion Plc said it completed its acquisition of DTLR Villa LLC. Read more

March 18, 2021

•Snap Acquires Fit Analytics
Snap, the parent of Snapchat, announced that it acquired Berlin-based start-up Fit Analytics, which counts more than 18,000 retailers and brands as users of its solutions. Read more

•Nautilus’ Investor Day Outlines Long-Term Strategic Plan
At its Virtual Investor Day, Nautilus Inc. released its long-term strategic plan, North Star: Journey to 2026, for sustainable growth and digitally transform the brand. Read more

•Shoe Carnival Announces Planned CEO Succession
Shoe Carnival, Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously elected Mark Worden, the company’s president and chief customer officer, as its next president and chief executive officer, effective September 30, 2021. Worden will succeed Cliff Sifford. Read more

•Nike’s Q3 Impacted By Supply Chain Bottlenecks
Nike Inc. reported a significant year-over-year gain in earnings on a 3 percent revenue gain. Earnings topped analyst estimates but sales came in well short. North America revenues declined 11 percent on a currency-neutral basis, largely driven by inventory delays due to container shortages and U.S. port congestion. Read more

•Ecco’s Sales Drop 20 Percent In 2020
Ecco reported sales of €1.092 billion for 2020, down 19.7 percent from €1.36 billion a year ago. Read more

•Everlast Signs License With SportLife Brands
Everlast Worldwide Inc. signed a new agreement with SportLife Brands, LLC of New York City. SportLife will produce, market and sell men’s, women’s, boy’s, and girl’s underwear, sleepwear, baselayers, and thermals under the Everlast brand in the U.S. Read more

•Headspace Hires Chief Marketing Officer
Headspace announced that Val Kaplan Zapata will join the company as chief marketing officer. Zapata most recently held the role of vice president of growth marketing for Hulu. Read more

•Fabletics Announces 2021 Retail Store Expansion
Fabletics announced it would open 24 new store locations across the U.S. in 2021 as part of a retail expansion strategy that will grow its total brick & mortar presence in the U.S. to 74 locations by the end of the year. Read more

•Fanatics Partners With University Of Oklahoma
Fanatics and the University of Oklahoma announced a 10-year exclusive retail and licensing partnership which, beginning this year, will see Fanatics become the University’s primary apparel and headwear partner. Read more

•Duluth Holdings’ Sales Dip In Fourth Quarter
Duluth Holdings Inc. reported a modest decline in earnings on a 1.4 percent slide in sales in the fourth quarter ended January 31. Strong online sales continued to offset steep declines in-store sales. Sales have recovered to show mid-teens growth early in fiscal 2021. Read more

•Lululemon Chairman’s SPAC Goes Public
KKR Acquisition Holdings I Corp. (KAHC.U), a SPAC (special purpose acquisition company) founded by KKR & Co. and Lululemon Athletica Chairman and former Gap Inc. CEO Glenn Murphy, raised $1.2 billion in an upsized initial public offering. Read more

•Dunham’s Sports To Open In Mason City
Dunham’s Sports announced it would be opening a store in Mason City, IA this summer, bringing up to 40 new full-time and part-time jobs to the community. Read more

•Gregory And High Sierra Drop Double Digits In 2020
Samsonite International S.A. reported steep declines in 2020 for Gregory and High Sierra. Read more

•G-III Apparel’s Q4 Sales Decline 30 Percent
G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. reported sales declined 30.3 percent in the fourth quarter and 35.0 percent in the full year ended January 31. The company predicted sales to climb 13.6 percent in the first quarter. Read more

March 17, 2021

•Nordstrom Launches Livestream Shopping Program
Nordstrom will begin hosting a series of live streaming events, where store employees or brand partners will showcase certain products on video. Read more

•American Outdoor Brands Sees Q3 Revenues Nearly Double
American Outdoor Brands Inc. reported net sales were $82.6 million in the third quarter ended January 31, an increase 90.7 percent, over net sales of $43.3 million for the comparable quarter last year, reflecting increases in both e-commerce and traditional sales channels. Read more

•USA Cycling Aligns Board With Broader Mission
USA Cycling announced new leadership roles in the Board of Directors intended to further champion participation, accessibility, excellence in cycling, and to support CEO and President Rob DeMartini and his staff to achieve a clear and broader mission for USA Cycling. Read more

•RoadRunner Holdings Acquires JoJé Bar
RoadRunner Holdings LLC has added JoJé Bar to its portfolio of athlete-focused active nutrition brands. Company founder and current CEO Jess Cerra will become the VP of Product and Community Development for RoadRunner. Read more

•New ACA Survey Demonstrates Camps Can Operate Safely
A new American Camp Association (ACA) study of 486 camps that served 90,000 campers reports that only 30 campers had confirmed COVID-19 cases in 2020. This is a direct result of the summer camp industry’s focus on developing child safety standards from the earliest days of the pandemic. Read more

•Callaway Appoints New Topgolf CEO
Topgolf Entertainment Group has tapped Artie Starrs as Chief Executive Officer at Topgolf, effective April 5, 2021. Read more

•3DLOOK Announces $6.5 Million Series A Round
3DLOOK announced that it has raised $6.5 million in Series A funding, led by Almaz Capital with participation from TMT Investments and Zubr Capital. The investment brings the online body measurement start-up’s total fundraising to date to $11.2 million. Read more

•Western Mountain Destinations Post Record-Setting Bookings For March
With just two months to go in the winter season, lodging at mountain destinations continued to claw back some seasonal ground as declining COVID-19 cases and rapidly accelerating vaccination efforts encouraged short-term bookings for the remaining weeks of the ski and snowboard season, according to the most recent Mountain Market Briefing distributed by DestiMetrics. Read more

•Evo To Open Two Satellite Stores This Summer
Seattle-based outdoor and action sports retailer Evo has announced it will open satellite stores at Snoqualmie Pass in Washington and in Hood River, Oregon this summer. Read more

March 16, 2021

•February Retail Sales Slide
The U.S. Census Bureau said overall retail sales in February were down 3 percent seasonally adjusted from January but up 6.3 percent year-over-year. That compares with a monthly increase of 7.6 percent and a yearly gain of 9.5 percent in January. Read more

•Ahead Extends Partnership With Nicklaus Companies
Ahead announced it has extended its partnership with the Nicklaus Companies and golf legend Jack Nicklaus and will continue to exclusively produce their branded headwear collection worldwide, including the iconic Jack Nicklaus signature and Golden Bear trademarks. Read more

•Fanatics Signs Memorabilia Contracts With Joe Montana, Jerry Rice And Charles WoodsonFanatics announced exclusive multi-year partnerships with NFL legends Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and Charles Woodson, who will join its roster of current and former athletes housed under the company’s memorabilia and collectibles division, Fanatics Authentic. Read more

•Hunter Boots Appoints CEO
Hunter, the British boot brand, appointed Paolo Porta as CEO. He has been holding the position on an interim basis since replacing Vincent Wauters in June 2020. Read more

•Indi Golf Clubs Appoints Chief Brand Officer
Indi Golf, based in Carlsbad, CA, announced the hiring of Scott Chenoweth, most recently with Callaway Golf, as chief brand officer. Read more

•Connected Cannabis Appoints Nike Marketing Veteran As CMO
Sacramento-based Connected Cannabis Co. appointed Craig Lyon as its vice president, head of marketing. Lyon spent a decade at Nike, most recently as a senior brand director leading the Central U.S. and Canadian marketplace. Read more

•La Sportiva Appoints New General Manager
La Sportiva has appointed Marcello Favagrossa as general manager of the Italian brand. Read more

•LeBron James, Lakers Lead NBA Merchandise Sales Through First Half of Season
The National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Basketball Players Association jointly announced that LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers secured the top spots on the NBA’s Most Popular Jersey and Team Merchandise lists. Read more

•Vail Resorts’ Debt Ratings Affirmed After Q2 Progress
S&P Global Ratings upwardly revised its base-case fiscal 2021 (ending July 31) revenue and EBITDA for Vail Resorts Inc. in light of its stronger-than-expected second-quarter 2021 EBITDA generation and EBITDA guidance for the nine months ending April 2021. Read more

•CD&R Completes S&S Activewear Buyout
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice has closed its previously announced acquisition of Bolingbrook, IL-based S&S Activewear, a distributor of imprintable apparel and accessories. Read more

•Caleres Posts Q4 Loss On Charges, Sales Down 18 Percent
Caleres, the parent of Famous Footwear, reported sales declined 18.3 percent in the fourth quarter and 27.5 percent for the year. Read more

•Active Brands Appoints New CEO
Active Brands, the Norway-based parent of Kari Traa, Johaug, Dæhlie Sportswear, Bula, Åsnes and Sweet Protection, appointed Christophe Merkel as the new CEO of the company, succeeding Espen Krogstad. He was formerly vice president and general manager of Nike EMEA. Read more

•Olin Updates First Quarter Outlook
Olin Corporation said its chemicals facility in Freeport, TX was affected by Winter Storm Uri and was forced to halt production due to the lack of electrical power, natural gas, and other raw materials. Read more

•Pure Fishing To Purchase Plano Synergy Holdings
Pure Fishing Inc. announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase Plano Synergy Holdings Inc. The purchase will include Plano Synergy’s 15 brands, which specialize in tackle storage, catch management, hunting accessories and archery. Read more

•Back River Group To Distribute Dexshell Waterproof Accessories In Canada
Back River Group will distribute Dexshell socks, gloves and hats to all sporting goods channels beginning Fall/Winter 2021/22 with the exception of bikes. Read more

•JD Sports To Open First Store In Canada
The JD Group, based in the U.K., announced plans to open its first JD Sports store in Canada in the second half of 2021. Read more

•Former Smith Leader To Head Leisure Collective In U.S.
The Leisure Collective Inc. (TLC), distributors of Creatures of Leisure and OTIS Eyewear, announced the appointment of Eric Carlson as president, Americas. Read more

•Designer Brands’ Q4 Same-Store Sales Slide 20 Percent
Designer Brands Inc., the parent of the DSW footwear chain, reported a loss in the fourth quarter ended February 1 as same-store sales declined 20 percent. Read more

March 15, 2021

•Adidas Forms Partnership With Peloton
Adidas said that it has formed a partnership with Peloton. Details were not disclosed but reports indicate the partnership is an apparel collaboration. Read more

•Clarks Replaces CEO After LionRock Acquisition
Clarks, the U.K.-based shoe retailer, said Victor Herrero will assume the role of CEO after Hong Kong-based investment firm LionRock Capital completed its £100 million ($139 million) purchase of a controlling take in the company. Read more

•RYU Apparel To Reopen Stores
RYU Apparel Inc. said it’s planning on reopening the company’s flagship stores that have been closed due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The reopening of the company’s Vancouver and Toronto stores is scheduled for Saturday, April 16, 2021. Read more

•Echelon Fitness Expands Into France And Germany
Echelon Fitness is growing its global presence, officially launching Echelon Fit France and Echelon Fit Germany this month. The experience in both France and Germany will follow the successful model in the United States, with live and on-demand programming being offered from studios in each respective country. Read more

•IDC Data: Wearable Devices Climb 28.4 Percent In 2020
Worldwide shipments of wearable devices for 2020 grew 28.4 percent to 444.7 million units. Jitesh Ubrani, research manager for IDC Mobile Device Trackers, said the pandemic has “been good for the market as it has put health and fitness at the forefront of many consumers’ minds.” Read more

•Toys R Us Has New Owner
Brand management company WHP Global announced it has acquired a controlling interest in Tru Kids, the parent company of the Toys R Us and Babies R Us brands. WHP plans to open a number of Toys R Us stores again in the U.S., ideally ahead of this holiday season. Read more

•Colorado Yurt Company Hires Director Of Product
Colorado Yurt Company announces the hiring of Chris Nance as Director of Product. Read more

•Rocky Brands Completes Acquisition Of Honeywell’s Boot Business
Rocky Brands Inc. announced that it completed its previously announced acquisition of the performance and lifestyle footwear business of Honeywell International, Inc., including The Original Muck Boot Company and XTRATUF footwear brands for $230 million. Read more

•Nosler Announces 2020 Sales Representative Of The Year Awards
Nosler Inc. said recently presented awards to its top-performing sale representatives within the company’s independent sales and marketing groups. Read More