West Marine, Inc. reported net sales for the third quarter ended Sept. 27, 2008 declined 4.4%, from the same period a year ago. The retailer attributed the decline primarily to a 4.7% decrease in comparable store sales…
Author: Charlie Lunan
Tender Corp. Secures Private Equity
Tender Corp., a major provider of insect repellents and other health products to outdoor retailers, said it secured a major investment from private equity firm Prospect Partners, LLC, of Chicago, Ill. Terms were not disclosed…
Small Retailers Raising Prices to Recoup Costs
Seventy percent of small retail businesses have raised prices to offset rising costs, 26% have added or increased shipping/handling costs, 20% have reduced other operating costs and 18% have renegotiated customer pricing agreements, according to a survey
Outdoor Media Network Adds Eighth Outdoor Title
Outdoor Adventure Media (OAM) said Elevation Outdoors Magazine has joined its network of grassroots outdoor publications. Summit Publishing will released the inaugural issue of Elevation Outdoors in February 2009. The free bi-monthly will have a circulati
REI to Begin Selling GT Bikes
REI will begin selling GT bikes at 47 of its stores by the end of the year, The B.O.S.S. Report has confirmed. The deal with Cannondale Sports Group (CSG) follows REI's decision to stop selling K2 bikes, which are made by World Wide Cycle Supply unde
Crocs Names Former Levi Strauss COO to Board
Crocs Inc. named former Levi Strauss & Co. president and COO Peter Jacobi to its board of directors. Prior to his retirement in 1999, Jacobi led a restructuring that included a transition to a consumer-focused brand management organization…
Zumiez Sees Big Negative Swing in Comps
Action sports specialty retailer Zumiez Inc. said its comp stores sales declined 9.0% for the five-week period ended Oct. 4 compared to a 13.9% increase for the comparable period a year earlier. The company said total sales grew 4.8% to $33.6 million…
Rip Curl Pulls Trigger on European Warehouse
Rip Curl, an Australian surf and mountain sports brand, has hired the French copmany ProLogis to build a 137,000-square-foot warehouse in southwest France next year to distribute Rip Curl's products to European retailers…
Rangel Calls for Monitoring of Chinese Apparel Imports
House Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-NY) has asked the International Trade Commission (ITC) to monitor and collect data on apparel imports from China. Rangel's staff stressed that he has not yet opted to ask for a Section 421 safeguard inv
Container Imports Forecast to Decline 6.5% this Year
Cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is now expected to decline 6.5% in 2008 compared with 2007 as merchants carefully manage inventories in response to the nation’s slow economy, according to the monthly Port Tracker report released
Coleman Names New Sales VP
The Coleman Company Inc. has named Michael Bach VP of sales with responsibility for leading the field sales team and the food/drug and home channels. His team will focus on key accounts within mass, sporting goods and other specialty channels and expand t
Conservation Alliance Sends out Second Round of Checks
The Conservation Alliance sent checks totaling $450,000 to 17 organizations working to protect wild places throughout North America. The donations marked the Alliance’s final funding disbursal for 2008, and brings the year’s total to $900,000. This round
American Recreation Products Replaces President
George Grabner “retired” unexpectedly as president of American Recreation Products (ARP) last week after 16 years serving in the post. He was replaced the same day by Jim Baumann, who spent most of the last 15 years running the nation’s largest operator o
Eddie Bauer Hires New VP for Outerwear Design
Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc. has hired Scott Hutsenpiller as VP, outerwear design. Most recently, he was responsible for the design of two alpine ski collections for Spyder Active Sports, Inc. Before that, he spent four years as director of design and produc
Vail Resorts Offers to Reimburse Some Baggage Fees
To help offset added airline fees, Vail Resorts is offering a “Baggage Bailout” for skiers and snowboarders staying at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Heavenly this winter. The offer follows MTN's forecast last month that its revenues