Rab, Lowe Alpine Names Industry Vet As U.S. Country Manager
Rab and Lowe Alpine hired industry veteran Adam Chamberlain as U.S. Country Manager responsible for domestic operations in the United States.
Primaloft Announces CFO Transition
PrimaLoft, Inc., a subsidiary of Compass Diversified, promoted Jason Kerley to chief financial officer from vice president and controller. He will transition to the position on the retirement of the current CFO, Tom Seaver.
K-Swiss Appoints Footwear Industry Vet As International Brand President
K-Swiss hired athletic footwear industry veteran Rob Langstaff as international brand president.
NRF Sees Easter Spending Reaching Record $24 Billion; Clothing Forecast At $4 Billion
According to the annual survey released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics, consumers plan to spend $24 billion on Easter this year, up from $20.8 billion in 2022 and the previous record high of $21.7 billion in 2020, with 81 percent of Americans celebrating the holiday and spending on average $192.01, the highest figure to date.
Foot Locker’s Q4 Tops Wall Street Targets, Sets Long-Term Growth Plan
Foot Locker, Inc. reported fourth-quarter earnings below year-ago levels, but sales and earnings were ahead of Wall Street estimates. The sneaker retailing giant forecasted same-store sales would fall 3.5 percent to 5.5 percent; however, today, during its Investor Day conference, Foot Locker said it would outline a new long-term growth strategy that calls for same-store growth between 3 percent to 4 percent from fiscal years 2024 through 2026 and significantly higher EPS growth.
Moody’s Upgrades Hanesbrands’ Speculative Grade Liquidity Rating
Moody’s Investors Service upgraded Hanesbrands, Inc.’s speculative grade liquidity rating (SGL) to SGL-2 from SGL-3 to reflect Hanesbrands’ improvement in liquidity as it has addressed all of its 2024 debt maturities.
REI Names Chief Merchant, Chief People Officer, Co-Op Brands VP
REI Co-op hired Apple Musni as chief people officer, effective March 20. The company also promoted Chris Speyer to senior vice president and chief merchandising officer and Isabelle Portilla to vice president, Co-op Brands, effective immediately.
Start 2 Finish Acquires Fleet Feet Race Productions
Start 2 Finish Event Management, with offices in Atlanta, GA; Charlotte, NC; and Memphis, TN, reported it had acquired the Race Productions division of Fleet Feet St. Louis to expand its reach in the Midwest and further establish itself in the event management industry.
Topgolf Callaway Brands Completes Debt Refinancing
Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp. completed a series of related transactions in support of a comprehensive plan to refinance its capital structure. Through these transactions, the company simplified and unified its financial reporting, extended its debt maturities, and improved liquidity.
Wolverine Worldwide Announces New Board Chairman And Directors
Wolverine World Wide, Inc. reported today that its Chairman and retired CEO, Blake Krueger, will retire from the Board on May 4. Tom Long, the Board’s lead independent director, will assume the role of Chairman on May 4. The company also elected three new board members—Stacia Andersen, Jodi Bricker and DeMonty Price.
361 Degrees Posts 17 Percent Revenues Growth In 2022
Hong Kong-based 361 Degrees International Ltd. reported earnings grew 24.2 percent in the year ended December 31 as sales expanded 17.3 percent.
National Ski & Snowboard Retailers Association Selects New Board Leadership
The National Ski & Snowboard Retailers Association (NSSRA), at its Board of Directors meeting on March 9, appointed Tracy Gibbons of Sturtevant’s (Bellevue, WA) as Chair, Robb Shepherd of Shepherd & Schaller Sporting Goods (Wausau, WI) as vice chair and Jon Morrill of Kittery Trading Post (Kittery, ME) as secretary/treasurer.
Lands’ End Lands In The Red In Fourth Quarter
Lands’ End, Inc. reported a loss of $3.3 million in the fourth quarter ended January 27 as sales declined 4.6 percent and gross margins eroded 340 basis points due to promotional activity.
Fanatics Enters Into Partnership Deal With Royal Belgian Football Association
The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) has entered into a long-term e-commerce and merchandising partnership with Fanatics to enhance the shopping experience for fans of the Belgium National Football Team.
Signa Sports Fiscal Q1 Sales Up 27 Percent But Margins Suffer From Inventory Woes
Signa Sports United N.V. reported that the operating environment in the first quarter of fiscal 2023 was a continuation of the prior quarter, with depressed consumer sentiment and a promotional overstocked market, in particular in the bike category.