EXEC: VF CEO Not Ready to Predict When Growth Returns

With July 17 marking his one-year anniversary, Bracken Darrell, VF Corp’s president and CEO, cited a number of accomplishments under his tenure, including significantly reducing debt, inventories and costs on the company’s first-quarter analyst call. The sales decline in the latest quarter also moderated versus the prior quarter, but Darrell declined to predict when growth would turn positive.

S&S Activewear to Acquire Alphabroder

S&S Activewear reached an agreement to acquire Alphabroder, uniting two branded apparel distributors to support customers and suppliers across corporate and consumer markets.

EXEC: Black Diamond Making Progress with Repositioning Despite Top-Line Weakness

Black Diamond’s sales again fell sharply in the second quarter but management of its parent, Clarus Corp., told analysts the brand is making progress rationalizing its product lines under a “fewer, bigger, better” emphasis and reducing promotional pressures amid the continued slow stabilization of the North American wholesale channel. Neil Fiske, president, Black Diamond Equipment, still cautioned that the overall outdoor marketplace won’t fully recover until 2025.

EXEC: BOA and PrimaLoft Deliver Healthy Double-Digit Growth in Q2 for CODI

Citing the benefits of inventories rebalancing in the marketplace, Compass Diversified (CODI) reported BOA’s sales surged 42.1 percent in the second quarter while PrimaLoft returned to growth with a 14 percent gain. Said Elias Sabo, CODI’s CEO, on a call with analysts. “We believe both businesses are positioned for a strong back half of the year.”