Author: Thomas J. Ryan

Shares of GoPro were trading down about 9 percent Thursday in mid-day trading after company officials said holiday sales came in lower than expected. The resultant need to clear inventories will cause a steep decline in sales in the first quarter.

At its first “Here for Her” Summit in New York City, Dick’s Sporting Goods brought out three Olympians, the actress Katie Holmes, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert and others to celebrate and extend its commitment to supporting women’s sports.

Delta Apparel Inc. reported sales in the first quarter ended December 28 fell 5.7 percent due to a challenging 2019 holiday calendar. Improving gross margins, however, helped drive profitability gains.

For the second year in a row, Nike was the dominant footwear and apparel brand among Millennials, according to Roth Capital Partners’ 2020 Millennial Survey. The eighth annual survey was completed by 2,500 Millennial-aged women and men and examines current trends, spending patterns and favorite brands across six consumer categories.

Johnson Outdoors Inc. reported sales rose 23 percent in the first quarter ended December 27. The gains were helped by a delay in the prior-year first quarter and the availability of new products in the Fishing segment but all other segments, including Watercraft Recreation and Camping, showed solid gains in the period.

Deckers Brands reported the largest revenue and earnings quarter in its history, helped by successful diversification efforts for its flagship Ugg brand and another quarter of explosive growth for Hoka One One. Deckers again raised its outlook for its fiscal year and now expects Hoka’s sales to reach $350 million, up from $223 million the prior year.

Scott Allan, who has led Hydro Flask since 2012, will retire as global general manager of the brand, effective March 1. Here, Allan discusses his plans for retirement and some of the ingredients behind the success of Hydro Flask.

At a media event in New York City, Foot Locker Inc. unveiled its new FLX loyalty program that will launch to consumers in a “few weeks.” The program will allow members to earn points across all Foot Locker banners. Said Jed Berger, chief marketing officer, Foot Locker, “It’s really our declaration to our consumer that we are in fact one family and we’re going to create incredible consumer benefits that keep our consumers within our family.”

VF Corp. reported Timberland’s sales fell 4 percent on a currency-neutral basis in the holiday quarter and the brand is now expected to show a decline in sales for its fiscal year ended March 31. VF officials also indicated growth for Timberland wouldn’t likely resume until fiscal 2022.

Wall Street sees VF Corp’s plan to explore a sale of nine occupational work brands as a way to further reduce complexities in the business, strengthen its focus on consumer-centric brands and possibly open the door for a major acquisition.

A record crowd of 40,000 attended the NRF Big Show last week in New York City to explore retail’s latest tech tools set to battle the digital transformation. Officials at Puma, Nike, Under Armour, Kohl’s, Adidas and Patagonia were among those leading education sessions.

At the NRF Big Show in New York City, Stuart Hogue, Nike’s VP, marketplace development, discussed the sports giant’s successful partnership with Zalando that he said should serve as a “bit of a blueprint” for other brands and marketplaces to copy. The presentation followed Nike’s move last November to end its direct sales relationship with Amazon, the world’s largest marketplace.

In a session on circular business models at the NRF Big Show, Phil Graves, Patagonia’s head of corporate development, said early returns from Worn Wear, the brand’s resale business, “are quite good.” Last year, Worn Wear saw 40 percent growth in revenue, profitability and customers that were on average 10 years younger than typical Patagonia customers.

In his first conversation with the business community since stepping down as CEO of Under Armour at the NRF Big Show, Kevin Plank strongly defended his company’s commitment to performance, unveiled a new “The Only Way Is Through” brand campaign, and discussed his new role with the company.