Retailers tracked by Sports Executive Weekly saw a reversal of fortunes in the fiscal 2007 fourth quarter as the ‘must haves’ that drove gains in the prior year period failed to materialize this past Holiday season. While vendors were still capitalizing
Author: Thomas J. Ryan
Thomas J. Ryan
Senior Business Editor | SGB Media
tryan@sgbonline.com | 917.375.4699
Crocs Shares Plummet on Lowered Guidance…
Crocs had a tough week as it fired a warning shot to Wall Street that it would fail to meet its earlier guidance for both the first quarter and the fiscal year. The Street shot back with the company’s stock closing down 43.1% for the week, closing at $10
Wolverine World Wide Ups Earnings Guidance on Merrell’s Strong Performance…
Continued strong performance by Merrell and – to a lesser extent Patagonia – prompted Wolverine World Wide, Inc. to raise its earnings guidance for 2008. The company now expects 2008 earnings per share in the $1.83 to $1.90 range from the company’s previ
Gander Looks to Direct Sales, Footwear for 2008…
Gander Mountain is shifting its investment from brick and mortar expansion and advertising to direct sales, shrinking its recently launched power sports business and dedicating more space to branded outdoor footwear in the wake of plummeting fourth-quarte
BPA Bottles On The Way Out at REI, Nalgene and in Canada…
As Canadian retailers like Forzani and Canadian Tire moved to yank BPA bottles from their shelves, Nalgene said it will phase out production of such products over the next few months Friday. Nalgene said it will wind down production of its Outdoor line of
Canada’s West 49 Posts Q4 Loss…
West 49 posted a net loss of CA $1.2 million ($1.15 million) in the fourth quarter due to sluggish sales and a CA$3.4 million ($3.1 million) pre-tax goodwill impairment charge. Net sales for the Canadian operator of action sports stores increased 0.8% to
JJB Sports to Close 72 Stores…
JJB Sports Plc announced plans to close 72 of its 410 stores and cut 800 jobs while reporting an expected 28.5% slump in fiscal 2007 underlying pretax profit. The U.K.-based sports retailer and health clubs group also revealed a disappointing start to it
Woolrich Closes Sewing Plant…
Woolrich said it will close its Jersey Shore sewing facility by October of this year. The plant closing will result in the elimination of 49 jobs, primarily in garment assembly. The Jersey Shore sewing plant is the manufacturing plant for garments being s
Icebreaker Names Hopcus as President for U.S. Operations…
Russ Hopcus is leaving his post as SVP of sales for adidas USA to become president of Icebreaker's fast-growing U.S. operation starting May 15, 2008. Hopcus takes the helm as the rapidly company builds its U.S. staff at a new headquarters in Portlan
Play it Again Sports Parent Sees 17% Sales Growth…
Winmark Corp., the parent of Play it Again Sports, reported sales rose 17% to $8.9 million from $7.6 million a year ago. The Minneapolis-based franchis..or earned $937,300, or 17 cents a share, in the period against earnings of $629,800, or 11 cents per s
Callaway Expects Q1 Sales to Rise 9.4%…
Callaway Golf Company expects to report first quarter net sales of approximately $366 million, increasing 9.4% from $334.6 million last year. In addition, the company expects net earnings to increase approximately 25% to a range of 59 cents to 61 cents pe
SIA: Specialty Sales up 6% to 7% through Feb…
SIA research estimates that consumers spent $1.7 billion in total at specialty shops during the August through February period, compared to $574 million at chain stores and $453 million on-line. The figures released last week showed apparel sales by speci
MPI Acquired by Grabber…
Grabber Performance Group has acquired MPI Outdoors, which manufactures and distributes a wide range of personal safety, comfort and protection products for use in the outdoors. MPI Outdoors makes the Original SPACE Brand Blankets, which have been availab
Nalgene, REI to Phase out BPA Bottles…
As Canadian retailers like Forzani and Canadian Tire moved to yank BPA bottles from their shelves, Nalgene said it will phase out production of such products over the next few months Friday. Nalgene said it will wind down production of its Outdoor line
Outdoor Industry Outpaces Broader Market in Q4…
The outdoor industry appears to have fared much better than the rest of the economy in the 2007 fourth quarter, according to a review of public company financial data for the period. The data is seen as an indicator that the outdoor market may still be m