Author: Thomas J. Ryan

Speaking at the BofA Securities 2023 Consumer & Retail Conference, Lauren Hobart, president and CEO at Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Ed Stack, executive chairman, discussed the chain’s transformation and other factors expected to drive continued robust top-line growth for Dick’s in the years ahead as well as why the chain is faring better than other retailers in the current inflationary climate.

Famous Footwear’s comparable store sales increased 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter, better than initial expectations, due to a strong second half in driven by athletic footwear. On a call with analysts, Jay Schmidt, CEO of Caleres, said, “This late quarter performance was driven by robust demand for key athletic brands, which the Famous team was able to capitalize on due to a stronger in-stock position compared to last year.”

J.P. Morgan lowered its rating on Under Armour to “Neutral” from “Overweight” due in part to elevated inventory levels that drive promotions across the retail marketplace and more direct competition from Nike and Adidas.

According to Roth MKM’s 2023 Millennial Survey, Millennials increasingly prioritize health and wellness and favor Nike, Adidas and Lululemon over other activewear brands.

American Outdoor Brands reported a 27.4 percent sales decline in the third quarter and slashed its growth targets for the current fiscal year. Company officials warned on an analyst call that the cautious ordering patterns due to elevated inventories at retail would not recover until the second half of 2023.

On the retailer’s fourth-quarter analyst call, Bob Martin, Gap, Inc.’s executive chairman and interim CEO, insisted the departure of Mary Beth Laughton as president is due to continued product missteps and not from the deteriorating health of its women’s activewear brand.

Shares of Genesco fell $6.53, or 13.7 percent, to $41.22 Thursday after the retailer gave a cautious outlook for 2023 and launched a cost-cutting program to help offset inflationary pressures that negatively impacted its flagship Journeys chain this past holiday season. Genesco also plans to close 60 Journeys stores this year.

On his first quarterly analyst call, Bjørn Gulden, Adidas’ new CEO, said the company plans to focus on culture, wholesale service levels, local go-to-market approaches, speed to market, and brand heat to orchestrate a turnaround at Adidas.

Dick’s Sporting Goods reported plans to return to annual square footage growth, led by its House Of Sports concept, after reporting fourth-quarter results that easily surpassed Wall Street expectations, boosted by a 5.3 percent same-store gain. As many as 75-to-100 House of Sport stores are expected to open by 2027.

Overcoming supply chain obstacles during the first half, Brooks Running managed 6 percent growth in 2022 to reach record annual revenues of about $1.2 billion. Dan Sheridan, president and COO, talks to SGB about how the year played out, brand accomplishments and his outlook for Brooks and the running industry for 2023.

Founded in 1958 in Lakewood, CO, Christy Sports has grown to 63 stores across five Western states and has an online platform. CEO Matt Gold talked with SGB Executive about the store’s uniqueness, commitment to customer service, the pandemic’s impact on business, and the current inflationary environment.

On its fourth-quarter analyst call, Compass Diversified officials said some subsidiaries in its Branded Consumer segment, including BOA and PrimaLoft, had been hurt in the fourth quarter by a wholesale order slowdown caused by elevated inventories in the marketplace. Those pressures it expects will continue through the first half of 2023.

Kohl’s logged a surprise steep loss in the fourth quarter and provided EPS guidance for 2023 that was well below analyst expectations as the chain overhauls its merchandise mix to deemphasize active wear in favor of casual and career wear and explore newer opportunities in home and gifting.

On an analyst call, John Walbrecht, president at Clarus Corp., said inventory destocking at Black Diamond’s larger retail accounts in North America continued in the fourth quarter, wiping out open-to-buy opportunities and driving a sharp revenue decline. The pain is expected to continue in the first quarter but Walbrecht said demand for Black Diamond remains healthy.

Citi Research downgraded shares of Dick’s Sporting Goods to “Neutral” from “Buy” due to margin concerns tied to the need to clear excess overall inventory in the marketplace.