Aqua Lung, a designer, manufacturer and distributor of dive and watersports equipment for 75 years, appointed Matthieu Bazil as CEO.
Blizzard and Tecnica added two associate reps in key mountain regions. Jamie Urbana will support Jeff Sale and dealers in Colorado and New Mexico, while Luke Perin will assist Connor Brown and dealers in Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana.
CamelBak welcomed Mike Valvano as director of soft goods and sport.
Fred’s Inc. filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition and commenced liquidation sales at all retail locations.
Fitplan, a personal training app that connects members to trainers for workout plans and advice, secured funding from a group of investors, including former Major Leaguer Alex Rodriguez.
German Precision Optics USA, a maker of binoculars, riflescopes and rangefinders based in Richmond, VA, announced the hire of Dane Bergeron as national sales manager.
Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates states that imports at major U.S. retail container ports reached unusually high numbers just before new tariffs on goods from China took effect September 1 and are expected to surge again before the next round of tariffs scheduled for December 2019.
IIC-Intersport International Corporation GmbH appointed Rick White, representative of the Canadian Intersport license holder Canadian Tire who heads Mark’s Work Warehouse, to its board. White replaces Christian Steven Evers, who left the board after his appointment as CEO of IIC in December 2018.
J.C. Penney plans to launch an Outdoor Shop, selling apparel and other excursion gear, in 100 of its roughly 830 department stores next month. J.C Penney also launched an in-house brand called St. John’s Bay Outdoor.
Kathmandu announced the brand received certification as a B Corporation, to become one of the largest outdoor apparel and gear brands globally to meet the B Corp standards of social and environmental impact.
Kelley McCormick, SVP of corporate communications at Under Armour since January 2018, stepped down to explore other opportunities.
Kohl’s announced that Sona Chawla will step down from her role as president at Kohl’s in mid-October to pursue new opportunities. Paul Gaffney, most recently at Dick’s Sporting Goods, was named chief technology officer.
NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) appointed Terri Watson to serve as the school’s sixth president. Watson succeeds John Gans, who announced last November he planned to step down after 24 years.
Ouray Sportswear was sold by Jalex Holdings, a Denver, CO-based private investment firm, to CenterGate Capital, a private equity firm based in Austin, TX.
Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) declared America’s outdoor recreation businesses paid $1.8 billion more in tariffs over the last 11 months (September 2018 to July 2019) compared to the previous period a year ago on affected outdoor products.
Patagonia sued a third-party seller Kimberly McHugh for selling Patagonia-branded products through Amazon and other platforms without authorization,
Peloton Interactive Inc., the indoor cycling startup, is seeking to raise as much as $1.16 billion in an IPO that could bring an $8 billion valuation.
President Trump delayed a 5 percent tariff hike on $250 billion worth of Chinese imports by two weeks in a gesture of goodwill for exemptions provided by China.
Self Esteem Brands, the parent company of Anytime Fitness, purchased The Bar Method, a low-impact fitness franchise with 123 studios across 30 states and Canada.
StockX, an online marketplace for retro sneakers, appointed Deena Bahri as the company’s first chief marketing officer.
The California State Assembly passed a bill that would allow college athletes to sign endorsement deals.
The Conservation Alliance sent grants totaling $900,000 to 22 organizations working to protect wild places in the U.S. This is the organization’s largest grant disbursal since The Conservation Alliance was founded in 1989.
National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA) announced four additional retailers and dealers who achieved Verified Independent Dealer status. They are AMgC Sports (North Attleboro, MA), California Pro Sports (Palos Verdes, CA), Capitol Varsity Sports (Oxford, OH), and KoSports Hockey Source For Sports (Canonsburg, PA).
Thomas “T.J.” Gassnol, a former consultant for Adidas, was sentenced to one year of probation after prosecutors credited him with helping secure convictions of three others involved in a college basketball corruption scandal.
Tilly’s announced Debbie Anker-Morris plans to resign as CMO.
True Diamond Science formed an Advisory Panel with former MLB players Mark McGwire, Edgar Renteria, Eric Byrnes and seven others as Founding members. The panel aims to disrupt the youth baseball industry with the organization’s bat fitting process and wide range of sizing options.
U.S. Ski & Snowboard appointed Michael O’Conor as chief revenue officer. O’Conor comes to the organization with almost two decades’ experience of commercial business development within the Olympic sphere.
Vans announced the inaugural Vans Checkerboard Day to be held on November 21, 2019. Owned by VF Corp., Vans will donate $1 million of global sales made through the brand’s owned retail locations and Vans.com to Imagination.org, powered by Two Bit Circus Foundation.
VF Corp. said the company will no longer buy Brazilian leather as continuing forest fires ravage the Amazon rainforest. In a statement, VF said it would resume buying Brazil leather when “we have the confidence and assurance that the materials used in our products do not contribute to environmental harm in the country.”
Walgreens, CVS, Wegmans, and Meijer will start asking customers to not openly carry handguns into their retail stores in states where open carry is legal. The move follows similar steps by Walmart and Kroger.
Wolverine World Wide Inc. appointed Chris Hufnagel as global brand president of Merrell, the largest brand within the company’s portfolio. The former global brand president of Cat Footwear replaces Sue Rechner.
Wolverine World Wide Inc.‘s board approved a buyback program for up to $400 million in stock.
Photo courtesy Kathmandu
