Fox Factory’s plans to acquire Marucci Sports, the maker of baseball bats and gloves, for $572.0 million has drawn skepticism from Wall Street analysts concerned about the timing given the company’s struggles and how the acquisition fits alongside its core suspension components businesses.
Author: Thomas J. Ryan
Thomas J. Ryan
Senior Business Editor | SGB Media
tryan@sgbonline.com | 917.375.4699
Birkenstock Gets Lift from First Run of Post-IPO Analyst Reports
Wall Street brokerages largely initiated Birkenstock Holding with their top ratings, pointing to a likely boost from the German sandal maker’s loyalty with consumers, expansion into untapped categories, channels and geographies, and recent investments to increase capacity.
EXEC: Wrapping Up the Less-Than-Jolly Holiday Forecasts For Retail
Holiday forecasts arriving in recent weeks roundly forecast sales will slow this year versus pandemic stimulus-boosted gains in recent years. However, while many expect a “resilient” consumer will drive solid gains similar to pre-pandemic levels, some see inflationary and macroeconomic concerns weighing disproportionately on discretionary spending.
EXEC: BOA, Primaloft and Velocity Outdoor Drag on Parent’s Q3 Results
Brand aggregator Compass Diversified saw Q3 sales decline 25 percent at BOA, 16 percent at Primaloft and fall 28 percent at Velocity Outdoor, while revenues grew 13 percent at Marucci Sports and 7 percent at 5.11. The company reported it was selling Marucci.
EXEC: Crocs Sets Plan to Revive HeyDude’s Growth
Crocs, Inc. scraped its earnings and sales guidance for the year due to the continued underperformance of its recently-acquired HeyDude brand. On an analyst call, Andrew Rees, Crocs’ CEO, admitted HeyDude has faced “several growing pains this past year” due to a mix of internal missteps and external pressures and forecasted the brand’s wholesale revenues in North America would remain negative through Q224.
EXEC: Titleist Parent Gains Q3 Boost from Healthy U.S. Golf Market
Acushnet Holdings Corp., the parent of Titleist and FootJoy, reported third-quarter earnings and sales topped Wall Street expectations on strength in the U.S. golf market. On an analyst call, David Maher, president and CEO, said the U.S. is outpacing markets overseas in both golf rounds played and consumer spend due to resilient golf enthusiasts.
EXEC: Canada Goose Shares Fall to All-Time Low on Luxury Slowdown, Weak Outlook
Shares of Canada Goose, Inc. reached an all-time low of $9.81 in over-the-counter trading as the outerwear maker axed its outlook for the year amid concerns over luxury spending, China’s recovery and warm weather.
EXEC: EMS and Bob’s Stores Look to Reignite Growth
In May 2022, GoDigital Media Group acquired Eastern Mountain Sportsand Bob’s Stores for $70 million in cash. SGB Executive talked with Jason Peterson, GoDigital’s CEO, and Dave Barton, president and CEO, Bob’s Stores and EMS, about how the companies is repositioning the banner for growth.
EXEC: Deckers Delivers Blowout Q2 as Hoka Takes Lead in U.S. Run Specialty
Deckers Brands hiked its annual guidance as results for its fiscal second quarter ended September 30 were boosted by an robust recovery at Ugg. However, Hoka’s momentum showed no signs of slowing down with Deckers’s officials telling analysts the brand has become the leading footwear seller in the U.S.-run specialty channel.
Skechers Enters the Basketball Arena
Skechers announced its entry into the technical basketball shoe category by launching two mid-top styles—SKX Resagrip and SKX Float—and signed endorsement deals with Julius Randle of the New York Knicks and Terance Mann of the Los Angeles Clippers.
Circana Delivers Muted Holiday Retail Outlook
Holiday spending is expected to come close to last year’s results but could fall short by as much as 2.5 percent during the traditional November and December shopping season, according to Circana’s annual Holiday Purchase Intentions study. The outlook was slightly improved when holiday sales falling in October are included.
Shimano’s YTD Sales Tumble 20 Percent on Cycling Weakness
Shimano, Inc.’s sales tumbled 19.8 percent in the nine months as sales in its Bicycle Components segment dropped 24.8 percent with the decline tied to high inventories in the IBD channel. The Japanese-based company nonetheless slightly raised its outlook for the year as orders in the back half weren’t as soft as expected.
Survey Sees Nike, Jordan, Lululemon Winning Popularity Contest with Gen Y + Z
While upstarts such as Hoka and On are making noise, Cowen’s sixth annual Gen Z and Millennial survey found Nike, Air Jordan and Lululemon hit new all-time highs in brand preference and showed material growth year-over-year in both 18-to-24 and 25–34-year-old cohorts.
EXEC: Vista Outdoor’s Guidance Cut Surprises Wall Street
Analysts said Vista Outdoor’s agreement to sell its Sporting Products segment business to Czechoslovak Group (CSG) for $1.91 billion appeared largely in line with the businesses’ valuation. Vista’s 24 percent stock drop on Monday was attributed to Vista’s sharp guidance cut tied to the deteriorating Outdoor Products business.
EXEC: Inside the Six-Year Growth Plan for Osprey, Hydro Flask Parent
At its Investor Day on Tuesday, Helen of Troy, the parent of Hydro Flask and Osprey, outlined an “Elevate for Growth” platform designed to annually expand sales between 3 percent and 4 percent and EPS by 10 percent or greater over the next six years.
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