Author: Thomas J. Ryan

Shares of Vista Outdoor jumped 16.4 percent on Thursday after Gary McArthur, interim CEO, on the company’s fourth-quarter conference call provided an upbeat outlook for the business, including predicting a return to growth for the Outdoor Products segment in the back of the current fiscal year and a more normalized purchasing cycle going forward for the Sporting Products segment.

Acushnet Holdings Corp. reported first-quarter earnings that handily topped Wall Street’s guidance, led by robust double-digit gains for Titleist golf balls and clubs tied to successful launches. David Maher, Acushnet’s president and CEO, told analysts, “The Acushnet team is excelling on the product development, manufacturing and supply chain management fronts.”

 Compass Diversified (CODI) saw sales decline 33 percent at BOA, 34 percent at Velocity Outdoor and 5 percent at Primaloft with all impacted to varying degrees by elevated inventories in the marketplace. Marucci Sports and 5.11 both delivered healthy double-digit sales growth. 

On its first-quarter analyst call, Steve Bratspies, CEO of Hanesbrands Inc., attributed the Champion’s 22 percent tumble in the U.S. in the period on promotional pressures in an over-inventoried marketplace. He said, “When you get an inventory backup of the scale that we have, people try to move it and try to move it aggressively.”

Kampgrounds of America, Inc’s (KOA) 2023 North American Camping and Outdoor Hospitality Report found camping, and glamping to a lesser degree, accounted for 32 percent of all leisure trips in 2022, down from a record high of 40 percent in 2021. However, participation among active campers held steady.

Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp. reported same-store sales declined 7.1 percent in the first quarter ended April 1 with cold and rainy weather stalling the start of baseball, softball and other spring sports seasons. On an analyst call, Steve Miller, president and CEO, said comps are down 11 percent for the second quarter to date and expected to decline in the high single-digit range due to macro pressures.

Clarus Corp. reported modest growth in its Black Diamond segment as gains in its direct-to-consumer and international channels helped offset fewer shipments to its North American wholesale channel due to elevated inventory levels and reduced open-to-buy dollars. Clarus also indicated BD’s inventories would not be rebalanced until the fall.

Fleet Feet has been busy, acquiring Boston’s Marathon Sports last year on top of its 2021 acquisition of the JackRabbit chain. Here, Joey Pointer, CEO, discusses the reasons behind the Marathon Sports’ acquisition and its ongoing expansion appetite, its recent performance, key initiatives and more.

On Newell’s first-quarter analyst call, Ravi Saligram, Newell’s CEO, attributed the steep quarterly sales decline seen at the Outdoor & Recreation segment to “a slower-than-expected start to the season, primarily due to wet and cold weather in the western part of the country.”

On an analyst call, Julien Mininberg, CEO, said Hydro Flask’s sales declined in the fiscal fourth quarter ended February 28 in large part due to a shift in consumer preference from insulated bottles to tumblers. Osprey, acquired December 30, 2021, outperformed expectations.

Skechers USA reported domestic wholesale sales tumbled 18 percent in the first quarter due to elevated inventories across the U.S. marketplace and difficult year-ago comparisons. However, strong growth in U.S. DTC (direct-to-consumer) and across international regions helped overall results handily top guidance.

Crocs, Inc. lifted its sales and earnings guidance for the year after witnessing a better-than-expected performance by the Crocs brand in the first quarter. However, the company’s shares are trading down about 16 percent in afternoon trading Thursday as investors appear still spooked by the sales slowdown expected for the rest of the year as well as lower-than-expected sales in the first quarter at HeyDude.

Puma SE CEO Arne Freundt revealed company sales in North America declined 18.6 percent in the first quarter, and the company now expects a further decrease in 2023 as Puma reduces its exposure to off-price sellers and elevates its position as a sports brand.

Life Time Group Holdings, Inc. raised its earnings outlook for the year after reporting first-quarter earnings topped guidance. On an analyst call, Bahram Akradi, CEO, shown above, said membership attrition had come down steadily each quarter and forecasted that June would be the first month with attrition rates below 2019.

Oofos President Steve Gallo spoke recently with SGB Executive about drivers of the company’s robust growth, the active recovery opportunity, plans for the current year, and the recovery brand’s dedicated fans.