Author: Thomas J. Ryan

Callaway Golf Co. reported third-quarter earnings increased three-fold due to strong growth in golf clubs, continued momentum at  TravisMathew and a “solid” quarter for recently-acquired Jack Wolfskin.

Acushnet Holdings, the parent of Titleist and Footjoy, reported a sharp hike in earnings in the third quarter with a boost from accelerated top-line growth.

Helped by a strong performance at 5.11 and improvement at Liberty Safe, Compass Diversified Holdings LLC (CODI) reported consolidated subsidiary EBITDA returned to growth in the third quarter, exceeding internal expectations. Velocity Outdoor, however, absorbed a $33.4 million impairment charge.

Excluding the C9 line that is being phased out of the Target chain, Champion’s sales on a currency-neutral basis jumped 26 percent in the third quarter, ahead of expectations for the third straight quarter this year. Gerald Evans, CEO of HanesBrands, said he believes Champion is well-positioned to generate another $1 billion of growth over the next several years.

Boosted by higher advance orders and earlier shipments of fall 2019 product for Columbia and Sorel, Columbia Sportswear Co. reported third-quarter earnings and sales that topped Wall Street’s targets and again raised its guidance for the year.

Led by the Americas region, Crocs Inc.’s Q3 earnings nearly tripled on a 19.8 percent revenue gain. Full-year revenue guidance was raised to 11 percent to 12 percent growth over 2018. The comfy footwear maker also provided initial guidance for 2020, projecting growth would accelerate to between 12 percent and 14 percent.

Boosted by its fourth consecutive quarter of same-store sales growth and a jump in merchandise margins, Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp. reported earnings in the third quarter more than doubled and were well ahead of guidance. Management also provided upbeat guidance for the fourth quarter. Shares of Big 5 climbed nearly 50 percent on Wednesday on the news.

Looking to capitalize on its 110-year athletic heritage, Russell Athletic in 2017 showed at Agenda in Las Vegas for the first time with a line of cotton t-shirts, fleece and French terries with graphic details that stood out for the return of the “Eagle R” logo. Over the last three weeks, the brand’s lifestyle push was on full display at its first-ever pop-up in downtown Manhattan.

On Thule’s third-quarter conference call, Magnus Welander, CEO and president, said the company’s sales in the U.S. were down 6 percent in the period as rattled retailers focused on reducing inventories due to tariff concerns and consumers fretted over related higher prices. The bike category has been particularly impacted and Thule is planning some reorganizational changes in the challenged region.

Deckers Brands lifted its full-year guidance after reporting both earnings and sales for the second quarter handily surpassed guidance due to accelerated sales momentum at Hoka One One. Hoka’s revenues are now expected to be up in the mid to high 40 percent range in the current fiscal year.

Puma cautioned on Thursday that U.S. tariffs on China would hurt its American region margins in the fourth quarter but still raised its sales forecast and narrowed its profit target for the full year after a strong third quarter in all regions.
Puma’s CEO Bjorn Gulden said on a conference call with a journalists, ““So far everybody is eating the tariffs in their margins.”

Mark Parker’s successful run as Nike Inc.’s CEO over the last 13 years included a number of controversies and not surprisingly the move to name his successor is being seen by some as controversial. But digital transformation has morphed into the brand’s primary focus and his replacement, John Donahoe, is expected to only accelerate those efforts.

In her first formal presentation with Wall Street at Caleres’ Investor Day, Molly Adams, president of Famous Footwear, discussed the shoe chain’s strong connections with active families and big opportunities ahead in the sport leisure category. The majority of her talk, however, detailed how her experience working at Walt Disney is helping Famous transform from a “House of Brands” to a “Branded House.”

At a media event in New York City in early October, The North Face celebrated the launch of Futurelight with a performance by Grammy Award-winning songwriter Mura Masa and an elaborate art installation telling the story of breathable, waterproof protection delivered by the break-through membrane technology.

The surprise acquisition of Olympia Sports extends JackRabbit deeper into the sporting goods space, but Bill Kirkendall, CEO of JackRabbit, said the Maine-based sporting goods chain is “right in our wheelhouse” because of its focus on specialty retail. The acquisition follows a strong turnaround in the JackRabbit running business.