River’s End Inks Deal With TaylorMade-adidas
River's End Trading Co., based in Minneapolis, reached an agreement with TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company to provide the Ashworth golf apparel brand to the ad specialty market. Ashworth was acquired by TaylorMade-adidas last November…
Quiksilver Europe Makes Management Changes
Quiksilver Europe, based in St Jean de Luz, France, named Pierre Boccon-Liaudet as chief financial officer and José Cledera as chief operations officer. They will be reporting directly to Pierre Agnes, president of Quiksilver Europe and on a functional le
Heiden/Weidman Partners with Sparc Retail
The Heiden/Weidman Group has joined the Sparc Retail team to develop integrated brand strategies for clients in the outdoor industry. Heiden/Weidman principals Jim Heiden and Jeff Weidman combine over 80 years of experience in the outdoor industry to comp
Adidas AG, Adidas Canada File Trademark Infringement Suit Against Payless
Adidas AG and adidas Canada Limited have filed a law suit in the Federal Court of Canada against Payless ShoeSource. The law suit claims, in part, that certain footwear sold by Payless infringes upon adidas' rights in its Three-Stripes Mark…
L.L. Bean Furloughing 150 Call Center Workers
L.L. Bean is temporarily laying off 150 of its 200 employees working at its call center in Bangor, Maine, beginning in May. L.L. Bean told Banger Daily News that this is typically a slow time of year, but it is even slower due to the struggling economy..
Gramicci Opens Boulder Showroom
Gramicci, the outdoor apparel company, has opened a showroom in downtown Boulder. As part of a soon-to-be-launched initiative called “Being There,” the new showroom is intended to make it easier for the company to “be there” and better service its retail
Chaos Headwear Sponsors Snowboard Tournament
Chaos Headwear will be the official headwear supplier for the USASA Nationals held at Copper Mountain, Co running from April 5th- 10th 2009. This is the fourth year for Chaos as the official USASA headwear supplier…
Schuylkill Valley Sports Resigns Spokesperson
Schuylkill Valley Sports, based in Boyertown, PA, said former Philadelphia Eagles’ safety Brian Dawkins will remain its official spokesperson. Dawkins now plays for the Denver Broncos…
OIA Hails Re-Introduction of Affordable Footwear Act
Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) is applauding action by Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and John Ensign (R-NV) to formally re-introduce the bipartisan Affordable Footwear Act (S.730), legislation that would permanently eliminate “extraordinarily high ta
Skechers Enters Eyewear License
SKECHERS USA, Inc. has signed a worldwide licensing agreement with Viva International Group to create SKECHERS-branded sunglasses and prescription eyewear. The SKECHERS eyewear collection line is set to debut in Spring 2010. Viva already has eyewear licen
Icebreaker Names Great Lakes Sales Rep
Icebreaker said “The Agency,” comprised of Kathleen and Lou Boudreau, will be representing the company in the Great Lakes Territory (Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky) beginning April 1…
Heelys Narrows Losses for Q4
Heelys, Inc. reported sales slumped 37.1% in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, to $9.8 million from $15.6 million a year ago. The net loss was trimmed to $5.2 million, or 19 cents a share, from $5.9 million, or 22 cents, a year earlier…
Life Fitness Names Director of Consumer Sales
Life Fitness has named Steve de Alcala as director of sales for its consumer business. In his new role, de Alcala will be responsible for the success and continued growth of the company’s consumer retail channels…
Klean Kanteen Joins Conservation Alliance
Klean Kanteen, the maker of stainless steel water bottles, said it recently became a member of the Conservation Alliance, and was also honored last Wednesday at the California Ocean’s Day Reception in Sacramento, for its environmental stewardship…
Outdoor Retailer Survey: Apparel, Footwear Rank as Top Product Categories
Outdoor Retailer has released key findings from the Outdoor Retailer 2009 Retailer Survey. The online survey aimed to gauge the thoughts and feelings of retailers in relationship to their overall trade show experience and included topics like reasons for
