Author: Thomas J. Ryan

Garmin, Ltd. reported sales slid 4 percent in the third quarter, dragging down declines in its Fitness and Marine segments; however, lower freight costs led Q3 earnings to exceed plan, prompting Garmin to raise its EPS outlook for the year. Growth targets were maintained for its Fitness segment but slightly lowered for the Outdoor and Marine segments.

Xero Shoes was founded in 2009 in Boulder, CO just as minimalist footwear was taking off, and now ranks among the small group of survivors of the trend’s downturn. SGB Executive talked with the brand’s Co-founders, Steven Sashen, CEO, and Lena Phoenix, president, about the brand’s start, Shark Tank experience and the evolving minimalist movement.

According to Cowen’s Fifth Annual Proprietary Gen Z and Millennial survey, Nike, Lululemon and Dick’s Sporting Goods showed the strongest competitive positions and/or growth in preference among younger consumers within softlines retail. The survey, conducted in July 2022, had 2700 U.S. consumers participate.

Vimazi, a Portland, OR-based startup, has developed a range of running shoes tuned for the pace of runners with the promise of better cushioning and more efficiency. Scott Tucker, co-founder, president and CEO, formerly developed running footwear for Pearl Izumi and Scott Sports and was president of Montrail in the early days of the trail running brand. He spoke with SGB Executive about the inspiration for the brand, the technology behind the shoes and scheduled launch plans.

Oppenheimer raised its rating on Dick’s Sporting Goods to “Outperform” and reiterated “Outperform” recommendations on Nike, Lululemon, Academy Sports and Under Armour on healthy fundamentals for the overall industry. Analyst Brian Nagel wrote in a note that Nike’s discussions around using aggressive promotions to clear inventories “served to further unnerve already recession-wary investors. We believe that markets are too pessimistically interpreting trends at NKE.”

Winnebago’s fourth-quarter results exceeded Wall Street’s targets as pricing actions and growth in its Motorhome and Marine segments offset double-digit declines in Towables. Mike Happe, CEO, told analysts, “While recognizing the inevitable normalization of short-term outdoor demand, we continue to believe that growing interest in the outdoors by an increasingly diverse range of consumers are lasting in the long term.”

At an online webinar hosted by NSGA (National Sporting Goods Association), executives from CCM Hockey, Johnson-Lambe and Sports Specialists Limited (SSL) agreed ongoing supply chain disruption will likely linger through 2023 and reshape buying patterns and strategies well into the future.

At Columbia Sportswear’s Investor Day, Tim Sheerin, SVP, global wholesale, Columbia said the outdoor brand plans to ”double down” on wholesale growth even as numerous other active lifestyle brands emphasize DTC initiatives. He said, “Retail partners make great connections to a broad consumer base.”

Athletic categories again delivered strong mindshare among teens with athletic footwear gaining share among females, according to Piper Sandler’s 44th Semi-Annual Generation Z Fall 2022 Survey. Nike and Lululemon were the most popular brands among teens in the active lifestyle space. Other popular brands included Converse, Crocs, Shein, On, and PacSun, while Vans, Adidas and Under Armour lost ground with teens.

At VF Corp.’s Investor Day, Nicole Otto, global brand president, The North Face, highlighted major growth plans for trail/hike, footwear and owned stores while unveiling the brand’s new mission statement expected to guide growth over the next five years.

Cowen issued a report offering a dismal view of holiday spending as it sees trends across discretionary spending weakening and inventories reaching peak levels to drive markdown pressures. The investment firm said it’s “cautious” on third-quarter and fourth-quarter guidance for Under Armour, Burlington Stores, Adidas, Allbirds, Hanesbrands, Puma, PVH, Skechers, and Figs. 

At VF Corp.’s Investor Day, Kevin Bailey, Vans’ global brand president, said the skate brand is “far from done in our growth potential” while detailing a series of missteps that recently slowed the brand’s growth. Bailey said, “Most of the recent challenges of the brand are executional and at the brand.”

Levi Strauss reduced its guidance for its fiscal year ended November 30 while reducing inventory buys for the first half of 2023 by approximately 25 percent due to ongoing supply chain disruption and macro-economic pressures, particularly in the U.S. and Europe.

Last week Nike, Inc. warned that it would have to aggressively promote in the coming months as inventories in its latest quarter ballooned 44 percent year-over-year due mainly due to pandemic-driven supply chain disruptions. Other retailers in the active lifestyle space likewise face inventory surges, although they are hopeful of avoiding excessive markdowns.