Hibbett Sports Inc. slightly lowered its full-year earnings guidance after reporting third-quarter earnings that just missed Wall Street’s targets. But e-commerce continues to outperform and Hibbett officials are hopeful footwear growth will accelerate in th fourth quarter promising offerings from Nike, Adidas and a number of smaller brands. Apparel, helped by the addition of Champion and Fila, is expected to continue to see robust growth.
Author: Thomas J. Ryan
Thomas J. Ryan
Senior Business Editor | SGB Media
tryan@sgbonline.com | 917.375.4699
Black Friday Weekend Momentum Portends Robust Holiday For Retail
Covering the revenue haul on Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday on through to Cyber Monday, a number of favorable reports arrived proclaiming a healthy start to the 2018 holiday shopping season for retail. Although online appears to again be seeing over-sized gains with a boost from mobile purchases, brick & mortar traffic also appears to be recovering or at least stabilizing.
Foot Locker Bullish On Holiday
Foot Locker Inc. reported third-quarter earnings that topped Wall Street’s targets as greater full-price selling boosted margins. The sneaker chain also gave an upbeat outlook on holiday selling on improving comp growth. The footwear category comped positive for the first time in six quarters.
Athleta’s Momentum Continues
Gap Inc. said its Athleta chain continued to deliver healthy positive cop gains in the third quarter, led a strong performance by its newer girls offerings during the back-to-school season.
North Face Amps Up Engagement And Storytelling In Williamsburg Concept Store
In a walk-through of North Face’s new Protoype concept in Williamsburg, Mark Parker, the brand’s VP of direct to consumer (DTC), said the store showcases North Face’s expansive lifestyle offerings, puts a major focus on community engagement and will serve as a testing lab for future retail ideas. Said Parker, “This is a place where we’re going to play and learn.”
Kohl’s Sees Q3 Comps In Active Segment Jump 10 Percent
The Active segment for Kohl’s, which has grown to represent about 20 percent of the retailer’s mix, saw comps climb 10 percent in the third quarter and Kohl’s officials believes the chain is increasingly being perceived as a go-to place for active apparel. Shares slipped on a weak guidance for the fourth quarter.
Recovery The Theme At NYC Marathon Expo
Products supporting recovery for runners dominated many of the offerings at the recent NYC Marathon Expo but an overall message of recovery for the industry was also heard from attending exhibitors. Said Luke Rowe, SVP at CEP, “The bottom was hit and they’re bouncing back.”
Delta Apparel Boosted By Digital Print Growth
Delta Apparel reported a sharp uptick in earnings in its fourth quarter ended September 29. Strong results from its expanding digital print and fulfillment businesses offset weakness at both Salt Life and Soffe tied to Hurricane Florence.
Shoe Carnival Blasts Past EPS Targets On Robust BTS Selling
Shoe Carnival Inc. significantly raised its earnings guidance for the year after reporting third-quarter results beat plan due to robust back-to-school selling and fatter margins. Same-store sales expanded 4.5 percent with a mid-single-digit increase in both women’s and men’s non-athletic and a low single-digits in adult athletics.
New Era Plan To Close Derby Plant Causes Political Brouhaha
A number of legislators and union officials decried New Era’s plan to close its manufacturing plant in Derby, NY, the company’s only headwear-manufacturing facility in the U.S. Charles Schumer, the Senate Minority Leader who represents New York, said, “This is devastating news for Buffalo. I sincerely hope that New Era, a hometown Buffalo company, will reconsider.”
Life Fitness Sees Connectivity Driving Fitness Equipment Growth
In essentially its initial public offering, Life Fitness Holdings, the commercial fitness equipment leader being spun off from Brunswick Corp., predicted generally modest growth for the fitness equipment sector overall in the years ahead. But the company expects to continue to grab share through its reach into an increasingly digitized commercial fitness landscape.
New Iconix CEO Seeks More Global Approach
Noting that the majority of the company’s 29 brands “have more mindshare than closet share,” Bob Galvin in his first conference call as president and CEO of Iconix Brand Group Inc. promised to push collaboration among licensing partners in a more unified approach. Unfortunately, a bad debt charge from Sears’ bankruptcy stalled progress in the latest quarter.
Mizuno’s Americas Region Returns To Profitability In Six Months
Mizuno Corp. reported that sales in the Americas dropped 16 percent in the second quarter ended September 30 but the region returned to the black in the six months.
Jim Weber Discusses Brooks’ Renewed Momentum
In October, Brooks Running Co. reported a whopping 29-percent increase in global revenue in the first nine months of this year, representing a strong bounce back for footwear’s run specialty leader. Here, Brooks Running CEO Jim Weber discusses Brooks’ return to strong double-digit growth, the recovering run specialty channel, the challenges around potential tariffs and what’s ahead for Brooks in 2019.
Morgan Stanley Bearish On JD Sports/Finish Line Merger
In a report entitled, “Is the Finish Line a step too far?,” Morgan Stanley initiated coverage of JD Sports Fashion Plc with an “Underweight” rating largely due to concerns over its recent mega-acquisition of The Finish Line. Part of that concern is that the merger comes as Nike and Adidas are rapidly expanding their direct-to-consumer (DTC) channels.
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