Shock Doctor Beefs Up Management Team
Shock Doctor, Inc. named Steven Coopersmith as senior vice president of marketing and Andy Donahue as powersports sales manager. Coopersmith will lead all marketing efforts, in promoting the company’s brand on a worldwide basis. Donahue will helm the sa
Callaway Golf Files Patent Infringement Suit Against Acushnet
Callaway Golf Company has has filed a new patent infringement lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware against The Acushnet Company, the golf business of Fortune Brands, Inc. The lawsuit alleges that the new 2009 Titleist P
Protests Prompt Schools to Cut Russell Ties
A host of colleges across the country have ended their licensing agreements with Russell Athletic over charges that a plant in Honduras was closed in order to shut down a union. Russell has said the closing was in response to economic reasons and denied t
Big 5 Sees Comps Slide Cut into
Soft sales of winter-related products caused by a flagging economy and a warmer-than-usual winter stymied sales for Big 5’s fourth quarter. Overall, sales declined 5.4% to $219.6 million from $232.1 million in the year-ago period. Comps for Big 5 fell 8.
NSGA: Athletic Footwear Prices Up 1.6% in 2008
Preliminary data from the NSGA “Sporting Goods Market in 2009” report puts the average price point for athletic footwear in 2008 at $43.71, a 1.6% increase from 2007. In 2007, the average price had risen 2.1% to $43.03…
Winter Sports Lifts Head NV’s Fourth Quarter Results
Driven by double-digit gains in winter sports, Head NV revenues increased 5.4% in the fourth quarter to €115.1 million ($147.3 million). Operating profits also grew with the help of lower expenses, favorable exchange rate movements, and the sales gains…
Globe International’s Sales Slide 4.5% in Half
Globe International's sales fell 4.5% in the six months ended Dec. 31, to Australian $60.6 million (U.S. $39.3 million). In constant currency terms, sales dropped 11%. The EBITDA loss was A$5.7 million ($3.7 million) compared to earnings of A$1.1 mil
Pacific Brands Restructures As H1 Sales Dip 2.9%
Pacific Brands is implementing a new strategy – Pacific Brands 2010 – to restructure and sharpen the focus of the business. The company will discontinue some of its smaller labels and brands to reduce complexity and cost and divest some non-core businesse
OBIT: Founder of Crazy Creek Rob Hart Dies in Ski Accident
Robert “Rob” Dixon Hart, 51, founder of Crazy Creek Products died Feb. 20 in a skiing accident on Red Lodge Mountain. Hart founded Crazy Creek Products with his first wife Louise “Weezie” Chandler in Red Lodge, MT in 1988…
The North Face Base Camp Duffel Wins Award
The North Face Base Camp Duffel has been awarded the Editor’s Choice Gold Award by Backpacker magazine. The Base Camp Duffel was introduced in 1979 and celebrates its 30th birthday in 2009. It is The North Face’s classic, bomber expedition duffel…
Colnago Establishes U.S. Subsidiary in Chicago
Bike manufacturer Colnago recently established its first U.S. subsidiary in Chicago. This move rids the company of an outside distributor for the first time in 30 years. Colnago's most recent distributor was Veltec Sports…
Lacrosse Subsidiary Receives Army Order for $6.7 Million
LaCrosse Footwear, Inc. said its Danner subsidiary received a new $6.7 million delivery order from the U.S. Army for the Danner Combat Hiker boot. Danner anticipates delivering this order of the Combat Hiker boot beginning in April through August of this
RECALL: Bowflex Gyms
Nautilus Inc. is recalling a total of 78,000 Bowflex home gym systems because of safety concerns. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said the seat of the Bowflex Ultimate 2 Home Gym could fall unexpectedly and injure a user or bystander. The seat, whi
Gramicci Hires VP, Sales
Patricia Babka has been named vice president of sales for Gramicci, the manufacturer of outdoor lifestyle apparel. Most recently, Babka was general manager for the Americas at Skins USA, where she established all facets of the operations to launch Skins c
Berkshire Hathaway’s Apparel Earnings Down 34%
According to the just-released annual report from Berkshire Hathaway, pre-tax earnings in its apparel businesses declined 34% in 2008, primarily due to lower sales volume and costs incurred to consolidate certain operations of Russell and Vanity Fair Bran
