Author: Thomas J. Ryan

At Vista Outdoor’s Investor Day held Tuesday in New York City, company officials lowered revenue guidance for the current year due to Walmart’s decision to stop selling certain forms of ammunition. But a three-year plan was also revealed that calls for a return to modest growth in ensuing years along with significant improvement in profitability.

Helped by the ongoing success of fashion athletic styles, Journeys delivered a better-than-expected 3 percent comp in the second quarter to help its parent, Genesco Inc. significantly exceed Wall Street’s consensus targets.

Continuing to be driven by footwear and hard lines, Zumiez Inc.’s second-quarter earnings increased two-fold and came in well above guidance. Combined with a strong start to back-to-school selling in August, the action-sports chain hiked its outlook for the year.

At Goldman Sachs’ annual retail conference, officials at Dick’s Sporting Goods discussed how stronger partnerships with vendors are helping revive top-line growth and how Dick’s complements their vendor partner’s aggressive DTC-growth efforts. Other topics included the challenges addressing girls playing sports, tariffs and the baseball category’s resurgence.

On Wednesday, Puma opened a 24,000-square foot flagship on New York City’s Fifth Avenue with a host of interactive elements designed to engage today’s tech-savvy youth. SGB talked to Puma’s top management about the store’s innovative features and how the store will help build on the brand’s recent momentum.

Shoe Carnival Inc. reported modest growth in the second quarter but has seen sales accelerate in August. On a conference call with analysts, Cliff Sifford, president and CEO, said back-to-school sales are “progressing nicely” with August sales up 3.5 percent through August 27.

Famous Footwear’s comps grew 1.5 percent in the second quarter, rebounding from a 1 percent decline in the first quarter. Nike’s return to positive growth at the off-price shoe chain played a key role.

Hibbett Sports Inc.’s second-quarter sales came in below Wall Street’s targets due to shifts in the footwear launch calendar and a later back-to-school shopping season. Hibbett officials said same-store growth has picked up in August and healthier comp gains are seen for the second half.

Shares of Foot Locker Inc. fell nearly 19 percent Friday after the leading sneaker seller reported second-quarter comps arrived at the low end of expectations, leading earnings to fall just short of Wall Street’s targets. The retailer maintained its full-year earnings guidance and expressed confidence that comp growth would accelerate in the back half of the year.

Adidas AG’s second-quarter operating profit missed estimates, squeezed by the cost of flying apparel from Asia to North America to address supply shortages. But the company reaffirmed its outlook for the year, predicting top-line growth will accelerate in the second half.

Mad Dogg Athletics, one of the pioneers of the indoor cycling craze, has filed for bankruptcy protection. The move follows three years of revenue declines that culminated in a loss in 2018 caused by a dispute over the termination of its Bodyblade license agreement. Other causes of the filing included heightened competition from Peloton, a botched website upgrade, and challenges transitioning its Spinner bikes’ license to Precor.

Wolverine World Wide reported second-quarter earnings that exceeded expectations but sales came in short and full-year guidance for revenues, gross margins and operating margins were reduced. On the bright side, Wolverine still expects revenues to accelerate in the second half as the company’s three largest brands, Merrell, Sperry and Saucony, combined expand 10 percent.