Author: Thomas J. Ryan

A number of surveys arriving in recent days have detailed the severe impact social distancing measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 has had on U.S. retail and prospects in the near term. Some cautious optimism, however, could be found.

According to Running USA’s “National Runner Survey 2020,” social media continues to play an increasing role in enabling runners to connect with running stores, running brands as well as the overall running community. Thirty-nine percent of runners now follow running stores and 32 percent follow running brands on social media. The favorite running shoe brand among survey respondents by far was Brooks, followed by Asics, New Balance, Nike and Saucony.

Officials from Monument Advocacy, a leading, bipartisan government and public affairs firm in Washington, D.C., Thursday, in a webinar held by the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA), provided a deep dive into what the $2 trillion stimulus package, called the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, means for businesses and workers.

A majority of retailers in the active lifestyle space have temporarily closed to fight the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. However, a number of chains, including Academy Sports, Camping World, Hibbett Sports and Scheels, are working to keep most of their stores open, albeit with restrictions. 

“The first priority for Varsity Brands, bar none, is the health and safety of our people,” Adam Blumenfeld, CEO, tells SGB Executive in the first of a series of interviews with industry executives exploring how businesses are coping with the coronavirus pandemic. Blumenfeld details the COVID-19 has impacted Varsity Brands, the company’s recovery strategy and how calls for social distancing may be changing consumer behavior.

A survey of more than 100 run specialty stores across the U.S. from The Running Industry Association (RIA) painted a bleak picture of how independents are weathering the COVID-19 pandemic with the majority forced the close stores and explore furloughs amid steep revenues declines. A few, however, are hoping for some recovery by May.

Under Armour was downgraded by both Stifel and Goldman Sachs due to disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Stifel cut its price target to $11 from $16 while Goldman’s target was slashed to $9 from $21.

On his company’s fourth-quarter conference call, Calvin McDonald, CEO, noted that the “underlying health of our business is strong” as he outlined five levers that will help the chain successfully manage the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Four days after its second annual RIA Kick Show was canceled, the Running Industry Association (RIA) has come out with a COVID-19 prep guide for the run specialty community to basically survive the coronavirus. And Terry Schalow, executive director of the RIA, said the organization has much more coming as the close-knit run specialty community has quickly come together.

Nike Inc. said a 36 percent hike in global digital growth drove sales and earnings ahead of expectations in the third quarter ended February 28 and helped the brand recapture lost sales due to store closures in China after the coronavirus outbreak. Digital sales grew in excess of 30 percent in all geographies for the Nike Brand as well as for Converse in the quarter.  

On a webinar Monday exploring the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the sporting goods industry, Tom Cove, CEO of SFIA, encouragingly said the stimulus bill expected to come out in the coming days is expected to provide relief for small businesses and “pent-up demand” should help the sports industry smartly recover in the back-half of the year. Currently, however, the focus of key industry players to weather the coronavirus is to converse cash.

Gildan Activewear Inc. said it has seen a “significant deterioration” in demand for its products, particularly on the imprintables side where end-users are closely linked to large gathering events. The company is also suspending manufacturing facilities production until mid-April and withdrew its first quarter and full-year 2020 guidance due to uncertainty over the duration of the coronavirus.

Duluth Holdings Inc., the parent of Duluth Trading, plans to reduce new store openings and take other measures that will curtail expenses and capital spending in 2020 to weather the expected fallout from the coronavirus outbreak. Said Stephen Schlecht, executive chairman and CEO, “Our plans for fiscal 2020 made just a few weeks ago are already out of date and under review.”

The NPD Group believes the postponement of most of the major sports leagues’ seasons due to the coronavirus outbreak will have a minimal impact on athletic footwear sales but may cause some near-term pain for the licensed sports category.

Designer Brands Inc. announced an extensive cost-savings plan to offset the expected fallout from the coronavirus outbreak. The parent of DSW also announced it is temporarily closing its stores while reporting fourth-quarter results showed some sequential improvement.