Author: SGB Executive

Fox Factory Holding Corp. reported sales at Specialty Sports Group (SSG), its cycling component division, rose 44.6 percent in the fourth quarter, marking SSG’s best quarter to date for revenue. Officials were also bullish on continued robust segment growth in 2021 while citing supply chain risks.

Foot Locker Inc.’s fourth-quarter earnings topped Wall Street’s targets with the boost of healthy full-price sell-throughs. However, congestion at U.S. ports in part caused a sales shortfall in the period and resulted in a double-digit decline in inventory levels at year end that promises to challenge spring selling. Said Dick Johnson, chairman and CEO, “The bottleneck situation at the ports remains in flux.”

Acushnet Holdings reported fourth-quarter sales grew 14.2 percent, led by strength in the Titleist golf clubs range. The company predicted robust growth for the majority of its businesses in 2021 as its rides golf’s resurgence in the wake of the pandemic. David Maher, Acushnet’s CEO, said, “The game and industry are in good shape, golfer engagement is strong and trade inventories are generally healthy and in some cases low.”

Wolverine World Wide Inc. reported its fourth straight quarter of double-digit declines in sales but predicted a strong recovery in 2021 with the help of its investments in digital and DTC e-commerce. Sales for 2021 are projected to grow in the range of 22 to 26 percent with a return to double-digit growth expected for Saucony, Merrell and Wolverine in the first quarter.

Rocky Brands reported sales jumped 16 percent in the fourth quarter, riding momentum in work and western footwear styles, combined with ongoing strength in direct-to-consumer business. Rocky Brand officials also spoke enthusiastically about the growth potential from its proposed acquisition of Honeywell’s lifestyle footwear business, which includes The Original Muck Boot Company and XTRATUF.

Puma expects the financial impact from the pandemic lockdowns to linger until near the end of the second quarter due to a recent spike in lockdowns, primarily in Europe. However, global growth in running is seen helping support strong improvement in the third and fourth quarters. Bjørn Gulden, CEO, said on a media call, “I believe we have more of the pandemic behind us than we have ahead of us.”

Crocs Inc. recorded its highest revenue and adjusted operating profit of any quarter in the company’s history as sales in the fourth quarter ran up 56.5 percent. The growth was led by the Americas and EMEA regions with digital seeing the fastest growth among channels. Sales growth is projected in the range of 40-to-50 percent for the first quarter and 20-to-25 percent for 2021.

Planet Fitness reported another quarter of significant quarterly revenue declines and indicated club usage in January was still only about 70 percent of prior-year workouts. On the bright side, January marked the fitness club’s first month of overall net member growth since before the pandemic.

Canadian Tire Corp said fourth-quarter sales grew double-digits at Helly Hansen and were down slightly at the SportChek segment due to COVID-19 restrictions. The company also announced plans to close all 18 National Sports stores across southern Ontario.

Americans skateboarded, played tennis, surfed, camped, and played basketball at record highs in 2020, helping reduce inactivity rates to their lowest levels since 2007, according to SFIA’s 2021 Annual Topline Participation Report. While social-distancing requirements decimated team sports participation, recreational or backyard play saw an uptick and strong interest in kids returning to team play.

Garmin Ltd. reported sales in the fourth quarter came in well ahead of Wall Street expectations as sales surged 48 percent in its Marine segment, 40 percent in Outdoor, and 26 percent in Fitness. Continued double-digit growth was forecast for the three segments for 2021. Cliff Pemble, Garmin’s president and CEO, told investors, “Right now we’re believing that the trends that we’ve been seeing in the business over the past year are solid and will continue.”

Run specialty has finally embraced online retailing due to COVID-19 to support a strong sales recovery in the second half of 2020, according to the latest survey from the Running Industry Association (RIA). However, according to the survey, it’s still uncertain how big a driver online will be for the channel, and direct-selling continues to cause tension in supplier relationships. In an interview with SGB Executive, Terry Schalow, RIA’s executive director, explains more.

At a webinar as part of Outdoor Retailer Winter Online, supply chain executives from Keen, Simms Fishing Products, NEMO Equipment, REI and Columbia Sportswear elaborated on how agility and the resilience of internal teams helped offset logistics disruptions caused by the pandemic, including ongoing port congestion and shipping container shortages.

Newell Brands reported sales in its Outdoor & Recreation Segment in 2020 were held back by weakness at the Marmot technical apparel business and Contigo beverage business due to reduced on-the-go activities during the pandemic. However, Coleman experienced its first positive sales annual growth since 2017.

Asics’s sales in its North American region fell 11.9 percent in the fourth quarter as continued robust online growth was offset by wholesale declines. However, Asics predicted a return to double-digit growth in 2021. Said Richard Sullivan, president and COO of Asics America, in a statement, “We have seen a sustained demand for our products across our owned and partner channels even given the circumstances of the last year.”