Author: Thomas J. Ryan

In a presentation at the 2023 ICR Conference, Jay Schmidt, president at Caleres, Inc., said Famous Footwear plans to sharpen its focus on the Millennial mom to deepen the chain’s connections with the overall Millennial family.

Speaking Monday at the 2023 ICR Conference, Ed Thomas, president and CEO, Tilly’s, said the retailer was a “little disappointed” with holiday sales with the environment turning “a lot more promotional” than expected due to aggressive clearance efforts by key brands, including Vans.

SGB reached out to key leaders in the Active Lifestyle space to share their outlook for 2023. In this final installment, here are a series of responses that gauge what they see for the year ahead. The final installment will run Friday. The first installment can be read here; the second, here; and the third, here.

Helen of Troy Ltd. reported Hydro Flask’s sales in the fiscal third quarter ended November 30 continued to be impacted by cautious buying by retailers.

SGB Executive reached out to key leaders in the Active Lifestyle space to share their outlook for 2023. This third installment includes insights from Brooks Running, OIA, Fleet Feet, Vibram, Selkirk Sport, Fjällräven and others.

SGB reached out to key leaders in the Active Lifestyle space to share their outlook for 2023. In the second installment, here are a series of responses that gauge what they see for the year ahead.

The majority of stocks in the active lifestyle space took it on the chin in 2022 as broader stock markets in the U.S. saw their worst performance since the 2008 financial crisis. Stocks managing gains included Academy Sports + Outdoors, Deckers Outdoor, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Xponential Fitness, and TJX Cos.

SGB reached out to key leaders in the Active Lifestyle space to share their outlook for 2023. In the first installment, here are a series of responses that gauge what they see for the year ahead.

Mergers & acquisitions in the active lifestyle space continued at a healthy pace in 2022 despite macroeconomic pressures having the stock market reporting its least favorable annual performance since 2008. Below is the complete list of M&A transactions SGB Media reported on in 2022.

Rocky Brands’ sales climbed 17.5 percent in the third quarter as the strong appeal for the retailer’s wide range of functional, affordable footwear offset inflationary consumer pressures. Jason Brooks, president & CEO, in an interview with SGB Executive, talked about his long run at the family-run business, the acquisition of Honeywell’s lifestyle footwear business, and how the company is managing a challenging macroeconomic environment.

Sports Endeavors, the parent of Soccer.com, recently sold a majority stake in the company to Seawall Capital. In an interview with SGB Executive, CEO Mike Moylan, shown left above, said the funding is expected to support continued momentum around the sport of soccer that’s expected to reach another inflection point when North America hosts the 2026 World Cup.

According to the Aspen Institute’s youth sports parent survey, part of the nonprofit’s State of Play 2022 report, the number of hours kids played sports is back to pre-pandemic levels. The report also highlighted strong recoveries for community sports programs and travel leagues but also highlighted challenges with funding and encouraging kids to be active.

Academy Sports + Outdoors last week again raised its earnings outlook for the year as robust merchandise margins elevated its Q3 profits ahead of analyst targets. Ken Hicks, Academy’s chairman, president and CEO, discusses the retail chain’s continued momentum coming out of the pandemic with SGB Executive, its robust transformation over the last five years and rising promotional pressures. 

Moosejaw is celebrating its 30th anniversary as an irreverent outdoor specialty retailer and its fifth year reimagaining  the outdoor opportunity under the ownership of Walmart. Eoin Comerford, Moosejaw’s CEO, discusses with SGB Executive ‘Moosejaw Madness’ and other keys to the retailer’s success, the Walmart acquisition and launch of the Moosejaw More Collection and how inflationary pressures have impacted the business.

Speaking at Morgan Stanley’s Global Consumer & Retail Conference, Chris Metz, Vista Outdoor’s CEO, said the company sees “a bifurcation” in its performance amid inflationary pressures “where the more well-heeled consumers and the more well-heeled products we have—higher-end premium products—are doing better than the entry-level.”