Technical Apparel segment growth was fueled by 39 percent DTC expansion, including a 26 percent omni-comp result, which was considered “a great result” as it had to comp against an 80 percent omni-comp last year in the second quarter.
Author: SGB Media

Unified Commerce Group Acquires Greats Brand, Invests in Retailer Böhme
Greats, founded in 2014 in Brooklyn, NY, is known for its direct-to-consumer footwear model. It now becomes the third brand in UCG’s portfolio. The company also reported investing in Utah-based womenswear retailer Böhme, founded in 2006 by Vivien and Fernanda Böhme.

President of the Fashion Institute of Technology to Depart
FIT President Dr. Joyce Brown will step down at the end of the 2024/25 academic school year, concluding nearly 26 years of service to the institution.

ABC Fitness Appoints Chief Marketing Officer
Maggie Lower joins the company executive leadership team reporting to CEO Bill Davis. She leads a staff of over 40 marketers “dedicated to growth and brand-building across ABC Fitness’ platforms.”

Pickleball Kingdom Wisconsin Franchisees Adding Third Location
This will be the third PK club that franchisees Greg Straub and Doug Reigle are bringing to the Badger State, with the other two coming to Menomonee Falls and Madison.

Scott Sports Appoints Co-CEOs and Expands Executive Leadership Team
The company hired Juwon Kim and Pascal Ducrot to new roles as co-CEOs of Scott Sports and added them as members of its executive leadership team

Brunswick Corp. Makes Key Leadership Changes as Navico Group President Departs
Aine Denari, Brenna Preisser, and Will Sangster will reportedly assume their new roles as presidents of their respective divisions immediately. Brett Dibkey, who preceded Denari as president, Navico Group will leave the company at the end of the August after assisting with the transition.

Nike’s Licensee for Kids Apparel, Haddad Brands, Adding Abercrombie Kids to Portfolio
A&F said Haddad Brands, which has the children’s apparel license for Converse, Hurley, Jordan, and Nike in the active lifestyle space, is “uniquely positioned to support the brand’s long-term growth.”

EXEC: GoPro Inc. Cutting 15 Percent of Workforce in Cost-Cutting Effort
The Restructuring Plan would reduce its full-time employees by 15 percent from 925 full-time workers at the end of Q2. Cuts would begin in Q3 2024 and be “substantially completed” by the end of 2024. The layoffs would affect 139 positions.

Iron Valley Supply Promotes Jacob Ring to Director of Product Management
Previously, as a key member of the company’s purchasing department, Ring managed over 5,000 products across 50 product lines, demonstrating exceptional organizational skills and strategic insight.

Leupold & Stevens Bolsters Regional Sales Team
The company promoted Kevin Graves to Eastern Region sales manager, Cody Braden to Central Region sales manager and Josh Andrews to Western Region sales manager, reporting to Leupold’s National Sales Manager, Jay Montrose.

Amer Sports Raises FY Guide as Wilson Returns to Growth, Salomon and Arc’teryx Grow DD
The parent company of the Arc’teryx, Salomon, and Wilson Sports businesses, among others, raised its full-year sales and earnings guidance based on its strong Q2 results. The Wilson brand returned to growth, Salomon footwear posted DD growth and Arc’teryx continued its 30 percent-plus growth.

Ashworth Golf Appoints Andy Bell as CEO
Bell will focus on elevating the brand’s market share and bolstering product lines and innovation to meet the evolving needs of golfers.

Summit Golf Brands Hires Chief Marketing Officer
Thomas De Stio, as chief marketing officer, will oversee e-commerce and marketing strategy for its B. Draddy, Zero Restriction, Fairway & Greene, and EP New York brands.

EXEC: Rip Curl and Oboz Parent KMD Brands Saw Improved Fiscal Q4 Trends
Despite a double-digit sales decline for the year, the company highlighted the improvement in the business throughout the year after first-half sales fell 14.5 percent and Q3 sales declined 11.1 percent, but Q4 saw a significant moderation in the declines to slide 5.0 percent for the May through July period.