Author: Thomas J. Ryan

Lululemon Athletica, Inc. took a massive impairment charge in the fourth quarter to cover write-offs and the restructuring of its Mirror’s connected-fitness business. However, shares of Lululemon are up about 15 percent in -pre-market trading Wednesday as fourth-quarter results topped estimates and an upbeat outlook was provided for 2023.

At a recent webinar exploring SFIA’s 2023 Sports & Fitness Topline Participation Report, Tom Cove, president and CEO of SFIA, highlighted the substantial progress in improving America’s activity rates and detailed which activities benefited from the pandemic, including pickleball.

Some Wall Street analysts were pleased with Nike’s progress in working down inventory levels and reviving China in the fiscal third quarter ended February 28; others were concerned that the growth is mainly from promotions.

In February, Janji, the Boston-based running apparel brand, and Oiselle, a Seattle-based women athletic apparel brand, announced they were partnering on a merger of niche brands in the run space. Here, Dave Spandorfer, co-founder and CEO of Janji, talks about the reasons behind the merger, the mission behind each brand and the Janji story.

Over the past year, the number of Sneakerheads, defined as consumers willing to spend $100 or more on sneakers, is up 18 percent in the U.S., according to YouGov’s latest report, “The Sole Obsession: Inside the World of Sneakerheads.”

Shoe Carnival Inc. said athletic footwear further weakened due to shifting trends in the fourth quarter ended January 28, but the family footwear chain posted record earnings on higher margins and claimed it’s continuing to build on significant share gains over competitors in recent years.

Nike Inc. reported sales and earnings in its fiscal third quarter ended February 28 topped Wall Street targets as strong demand drove broad-based growth across brands, channels and geographies. However, the sportswear giant lowered its margin guidance for its fiscal year as it still has some work to do in whittling down bloated inventories.

Shares of Foot Locker rose 7 percent on Tuesday as analysts at Citi and Evercore upgraded the stock following the retailer’s Investor Day on Monday. Citi’s Paul Lejuez said Foot Locker’s moving in the right direction, turning attention away from malls and the Champs brand and instead focusing on offerings related to kids, loyalty and digital.

Shares of On Holding rose 26 percent Tuesday after the Swiss running brand reported revenues jumped 92 percent in the fourth quarter with the help of market share gains in running and tennis and On’s strengthening appeal with younger consumers. On officials also provided a bullish outlook for 2023.

At its Investor Day on Monday, Mary Dillon, Foot Locker’s new CEO and president, outlined an ambitious “Lace Up” growth plan and said progress is being made in repairing the company’s relationship with Nike. However, shares of Foot Locker fell $2.43, or 5.8 percent, to $39.83 as earnings for the current year were guided sharply below analyst targets as the business undergoes a “reset.”

As consumers return to fitness clubs, publicly-traded club operators Planet Fitness, Life Time Fitness and Xponential Fitness reported fourth-quarter results topping expectations and delivered upbeat forecasts for continued growth in 2023. The results were in sharp contrast to the in-home fitness equipment brands that saw revenues take a dive following pandemic-driven growth.

Following two years of robust growth, L.L.Bean’s sales fell about 1 percent in 2022, to $1.8 billion a year ago. In a statement, L.L.Bean noted that it was able to hold “onto recent gains to yield its second-strongest revenue performance in company history.”

Academy Sports + Outdoors saw fourth-quarter sales come in below plan due in part to weakness in the hunt category,  but strength in apparel and footwear as well as lower freight costs helped earnings easily top analyst targets. Officials also gave an upbeat outlook for 2023 due to improved inventory content, healthy demand across most categories and the benefit of its value positioning in a more-challenged economic climate.

Speaking at the UBS Global Consumer and Retail Conference, Andrew Rees, CEO of Crocs, Inc., said the company is “off to a great start” in 2023, driven by innovation and new product introductions from its Crocs and Hey Dude brands.