Aisle Talk Week Of March 29, 2021

•Sequential Brands Amends Credit Agreement, Sees Four Board Members Exit
Sequential Brands Group Inc. said it amended its credit agreement with Wilmington Trust that extends a waiver of existing defaults under the agreement through April 19. As a result, four board members, including Martha Stewart, have resigned. Read more

•U.S. Economy Added 916,000 Jobs In March
The U.S. economy added 916,000 jobs in March, the highest level in months, as rising vaccination rates and declining caseloads helped accelerate recovery in the labor market. Read more

•Nike Wins Restraining Order Over Lil Nas X ‘Satan Shoes’
U.S. District Judge Eric Komitee in Brooklyn ruled in favor of Nike three days after the sporting goods giant sued MSCHF Product Studio over MSCHF’s “Satan Shoes.” The modified Nike Air Max 97 sneakers were made in collaboration with rapper Lil Nas X and were purported to contain one drop of human blood in the midsoles. Read more

•NICS Adjusted Background Checks Decline 14 Percent In March
The March 2021 NICS background checks, as adjusted by the NSSF, fell 14.0 percent to 2.04 million from 2.38 million in the same month a year ago. The figures were competing against a year-ago hike of 80 percent when the pandemic started to spread in the U.S.  The performance marked the first decline since April 2019. Read more

April 1, 2021

•Altitude Sports Appointment Announcement
Altitude Sports has named Maximilien Meilleur as vice president, product management. Read more

•Crocs Appoints Chief Marketing Officer
Crocs promoted Heidi Cooley, most recently head of global marketing for the brand, to SVP and CMO. Read more

•Compass Diversified Declares First Quarter 2021 Distributions
Compass Diversified announced that its Board of Directors had declared a quarterly cash distribution of $0.36 per share on its common shares. Read more

•Peloton Completes Precor Acquisition
Peloton announced that it had officially closed on the acquisition of Precor, one of the largest global commercial fitness equipment providers with a significant U.S. manufacturing presence. Read more

•Ballogy Secures Series A Funding Of $6 Million
Ballogy Inc. announced it had completed a $6 million round of Series A financing to further accelerate the growth and adoption of its development and analytics app for amateur athletes. Read more

•Former Topgolf Chief Marketing Officer Joins Hotaling & Co
Hotaling & Co. announced that Brian Radics, formerly the CMO of Topgolf Entertainment Group, had joined the company as its CMO. Read more

•Fanatics Partners With University Of Minnesota
Fanatics and the University of Minnesota announced an exclusive, 10-year partnership that sees Fanatics becoming Gopher Athletics’ exclusive omnichannel-e-commerce and in-venue retail partner. Fanatics will also gain fan apparel rights to design, manufacture and distribute an expanded assortment of Golden Gopher merchandise. Read more

•REI Cuts International Adventures To Focus On U.S. Destinations
REI said it would discontinue its international adventure travel trips effective May 2021 to invest in its domestic travel growth strategy and expand offerings in hiking and camping, backpacking, cycling, women’s-only, under-35, family, and weekend adventures. Read more

•Camping World Announces Planned Expansion In Cheyenne
Camping World Holdings Inc. announced that it had signed an agreement to acquire approximately nine acres off Interstate 80 in Cheyenne, WY, to develop a SuperCenter. Read more

•Orion Wholesale Announces New Headquarters
Orion Wholesale, the distributor of shooting sports products, announced its new headquarters facility in the Louisville area of Southern Indiana. The 130,000-square-foot facility and corporate offices will open in the fall. Read more

•Buck Knives Expands Sales And Marketing Team
In creating newly formed regional sales management roles, Buck Knives announced that Connor Slepikas and Anthony Tekansik had joined the company to further strengthen aggressive growth plans. Under VP of Sales, Mike Silverberg, Slepikas and Tekansik will remotely oversee sales for the Western and Eastern U.S. and Canada. Read more

•Columbia Sportswear Appoints Senior Vice President, Emerging Brands
Columbia Sportswear Company announced the impending retirement of Doug Morse, senior vice president, emerging brands, in the summer of 2021, and the hiring of Craig Zanon to fill the vacancy created by Morse’s retirement. Zanon spent more than twenty years with Nike, where most recently, he served as VP & GM of global basketball. Read more

March 31, 2021

•Camping World Announces Planned Acquisition In Michigan
Camping World Holdings Inc. announced that an agreement had been signed to acquire a multi-location Hilltop RV Superstore, with dealerships in Escanaba and Ishpeming, MI. Read more

•Kohl’s Sends Letter To Shareholders Highlighting Board Strength
Kohl’s Corporation, which is facing a proxy fight from Activist investors, mailed a letter to shareholders detailing the collective strength of its Board of Directors, which the retailer said: “has been thoughtfully assembled to incorporate the full range of skills and capabilities required to oversee Kohl’s continued momentum.” Read more

•VF Corp. Announces New Appointments To EMEA Leadership Team
VF Corp. announced several new appointments to its EMEA leadership team, impacting Dickies, Napapijri and supply chain management. Read more

•Sportsman’s Warehouse Sees 70 Percent Q4 Revenue Hike
Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings, Inc., which has agreed to a merger with Bass Pro, reported fourth-quarter earnings soared three-fold as sales ran up 69.7 percent. Read more

•Dorel Completes Sale Of China Manufacturing Facility
Dorel Industries Inc. has completed the previously-announced sale of its juvenile products manufacturing facility in Zhongshan, China to Guangdong Roadmate Group Co., Ltd. and has received the gross sale proceeds of approximately US$51 million from Roadmate. Read more

•RunSignup Reports Growth At The Close Of Q1 2021
After a challenging year for endurance events and nonprofits, RunSignup said it closed in Q1 of 2021 with encouraging signs of market expansion. Total transactions on the platform in March 2021 were just short of the transactions from March 2019, despite the continued absence of large endurance events. Read more

•A.k.a. Brands Announces Acquisition Of Culture Kings
A.k.a. Brands, based in San Francisco, CA, announced the acquisition of Culture Kings, the Australian streetwear brand. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Read more

•Tonal Raises $250M In Funding At $1.6B Valuation
Tonal announced $250 million in new funding, valuing the business at $1.6 billion. This brings Tonal’s total funding to over $450 million. Read more

•NSGA Sports Participation Study Offers Glimpse Of COVID-19 Impact
Early figures from the 2021 Edition of the National Sporting Goods Association’s (NSGA) Sports Participation in the U.S. Report provide an indication of the impact COVID-19 had on the 10 segments tracked by the organization in 2020. NSGA’s annual participation study saw five segments increase in participation, three segments decrease and two remain relatively flat compared to 2019. Read more

•Fitbench Celebrates Five-Year Anniversary With Record Growth
Fitbench, based in Oconomowoc, WI, said it doubled its business in 2020 and plans to launch two products this year as it celebrates its fifth year in business in 2021. Read more

•OIA Special Report Examines New Outdoor Participant Amid Pandemic
Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) released a special report, “New Outdoor Participant  (COVID And Beyond),” exploring Americans’ spike in engagement in outdoor activities amid the pandemic. The report reveals that these new participants are more likely to be female, younger, living in an urban area, and slightly more ethnically diverse than existing participants. Read more

•Iconix’s Q4 Sales Slid 22 Percent
Iconix Brand Group Inc. reported sales for the fourth quarter of $33.9 million, a 22 percent decline compared to $43.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. Read more

•Shimano Announces New President
Shimano appointed Taizo Shimano, who joined the company in 1991 and served as a senior executive vice president since 2018 after leading Shimano’s Fishing Tackle division, as its new president. Read more

March 30, 2021

•Lululemon Sees Q4 Sales Outpacing Expectations
Lululemon Athletica reported earnings in the fourth quarter ended January 31 improved 13 percent on an adjusted basis as same-store sales gained 21 percent. Both sales and earnings topped Wall Street targets. Read more

•Nike Sues Maker Of Lil Nas X’s Satan Shoes
Nike filed a trademark lawsuit on Monday against the company behind Lil Nas X’s “Satan Shoes,” which contain a drop of human blood and a pentagram. Read more

•USSSA Announces Contract Extension For CEO
The United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA), America’s largest multi-sport association, announced the contract extension of its CEO Don DeDonatis III. Read more

•US Lacrosse CEO To Exit After Nearly 40 Years
Steve Stenersen, the CEO of US Lacrosse since the organization’s inception in 1998, announced his intention to depart the organization by the end of 2021. The decision is the outcome of a multi-year series of strategic conversations between Stenersen and the US Lacrosse Board of Directors about succession planning and organizational evolution. Read more

•Primary Arms Appoints Senior Manager Of Customer Service, Storefront And FFL Operations
Primary Arms Online announced the promotion of Jimmy Durham to senior manager of customer service, storefront, and FFL operations. Read more

•Report: Chinese Boycott Losing Momentum
A Chinese consumer boycott threat against international brands including  Nike and Adidas appeared to be losing momentum over the weekend, according to a report from the South China Morning Post. Read more

•Innerwear Brand Tommy John Taps Nike Execs
Tommy John has appointed Melissa Ohm as chief product officer and Beth Brown as vice president of sales. Both formerly worked at Nike. Read more

•Sezzle Achieves B Corp Certification
Sezzle is the latest company serving the active lifestyle industry to have received certification required to achieve B Corp status, joining innovative leaders worldwide to advance important environmental, social, and economic causes. Read more

•Academy Sports Posts Record Sales And Earnings In Fourth Quarter
Academy Sports and Outdoors Inc. reported fourth-quarter earnings quadrupled as same-store sales increased 16.1 percent. The sales gains were driven by strong consumer demand across all markets and merchandise divisions, particularly Sports & Recreation. E-commerce sales grew 60.7  percent. Read more

•Gear Aid Appoints VP Finance & Administration
Gear Aid appointed Justin Mitchell as its new VP of Finance and Administration. He comes to Gear Aid with more than 25 years of experience in finance leadership roles at Wood Stone and Alpha Technologies. Read more

•360 Adventure Collective Announces Summer 2021 Show Schedule
360 Adventure Collective announces its 2021 Summer Show Schedule, which includes hosting its first Southeast Paddle Sports Experience. Read more

March 29, 2021

•The Carlyle Group Partners With END.
The Carlyle Group has acquired a majority stake in luxury, streetwear and sportswear retailer END. The stake is being acquired from founders Christiaan Ashworth and John Parker, who will retain a significant minority stake and remain co-CEOs. Read more

•USTA, ITA Enter Strategic Alliance To Elevate College Tennis
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) and the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) have entered into a new strategic alliance that formalizes the two organizations’ ongoing collaboration to strengthen and elevate collegiate tennis. Read more

•Nordstrom’s Debt Ratings Upgraded To Stable
S&P Global Ratings revised the debt rating outlook on Nordstrom to stable from negative reflecting its belief that the retailer will demonstrate a sequential recovery in operating performance this year, generating more than $1 billion in operating cash flow. Read more

•Duca Del Cosma Appoints East Coast Sales Rep
Duca del Cosma, the Italian golf footwear brand, has hired New York-based rep, David Schuster, to cover the Northeast. Read more

•Fanatics, NFL To Launch Amazon Storefront
Fanatics, which operates the NFL Shop online store, in a partnership with the NFL is developing an NFL Shop “storefront” on the Amazon platform, marking the first time Fanatics will sell its products on Amazon. Currently, customers can shop all of the expanded selections at Amazon.com/nfl. Read more

•Walmart’s Former Sports & Fitness GM Joins Bed Bath & Beyond
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. hired Jake Griffith, most recently general manager for Sports & Fitness at Walmart, as vice president, product management. Read more

•MyFitnessPal Appoints Chief Executive Officer
MyFitnessPal announced that Tricia Han will join the company as its new CEO. Han was previously CEO of Daily Burn and chief product officer and GM of US for Care.com. Read more

•Tecnica Group Appoints New CEO And General Manager
Tecnica Group has tapped Giovanni Zoppas as its new CEO and General Manager, effective May 2021. Zoppas will take over the role held on an interim basis by the Group’s Chairman Alberto Zanatta, after its previous CEO, Antonio Dus, left in December 2020. Read more

•Primary Arms Names VP Of Compliance
Primary Arms has announced the promotion of Joyce Banda to the role of vice president of compliance. Read more

•Rocky Brands Appoints Board Member
Rocky Brands has appointed Ohio-based insurance executive Robyn R. Hahn to its Board of Directors. Read more

•Camping World Continues Expansion With West Virginia Acquisition
Camping World Holdings Inc. announced an agreement to acquire Trailer City RV dealership in Fairmont, WV. The acquisition agreement will be the company’s first location in the state of West Virginia. Read more

•Omega Sports Files For Bankruptcy
Omega Sports Inc., based in Greensboro, NC, filed a bankruptcy petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Western District Of North Carolina. Read more

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